wheel

American  

[hweel, weel] / ʰwil, wil /

noun

• wheels
  plural

1. a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery.

2. any machine, apparatus, instrument, etc., shaped like this or having a circular frame, disk, or revolving drum as an essential feature.

   a potter's wheel; roulette wheel; spinning wheel.

3. steering wheel.

4. Nautical.

   1. a circular frame with an axle connecting to the rudder of a ship, for steering.

      He took the wheel during the storm.

   2. a paddle wheel.

   3. a propeller.

5. Informal. a bicycle.

6. a round object, decoration, etc..

   a wheel of cheese; a design of red wheels and blue squares.

7. an old instrument of torture in the form of a circular frame on which the victim was stretched until disjointed.

8. a circular firework that revolves rapidly while burning; pinwheel.

9. a rotating instrument that Fortune is represented as turning in order to bring about changes or reverses in human affairs.

10. wheels,

    1. moving, propelling, or animating agencies.

       the wheels of commerce; the wheels of thought.

    2. Slang. a personal means of transportation, especially a car.

11. a cycle, recurring action, or steady progression.

    the wheel of days and nights.

12. a wheeling or circular movement.

    the intricate wheels of the folk dances.

13. (formerly) a movement of troops, ships, etc., drawn up in line, as if turning on a pivot.

14. Informal. someone active and influential, as in business, politics, etc.; an important person.

    a big wheel.

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verb (used with object)

• wheels,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wheeled,
  past participle,  past
• wheeling
  present participle

1. to cause to turn, rotate, or revolve, as on an axis.

2. to perform (a movement) in a circular or curving direction.

3. to move, roll, or convey on wheels, casters, etc..

   The servants wheel the tables out.

4. to provide (a vehicle, machine, etc.) with wheels.

verb (used without object)

• wheels,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wheeled,
  past participle,  past
• wheeling
  present participle

1. to turn on or as on an axis or about a center; revolve, rotate, or pivot.

2. to move in a circular or curving course.

   pigeons wheeling above.

3. to turn so as to face in a different direction (often followed by about oraround ).

   He wheeled about and faced his opponent squarely.

4. to change one's opinion or procedure (often followed by about oraround ).

   He wheeled around and argued for the opposition.

5. to roll along on or as on wheels; travel along smoothly.

   The car wheeled along the highway.

6. British Military. to turn.

   Right wheel!

idioms

1. wheels within wheels, an involved interaction of motives or agencies operating to produce the final result.

   Government agencies are a study of wheels within wheels.

2. at the wheel,

   1. at the helm of a ship, the steering wheel of a motor vehicle, etc.

   2. in command or control.

      Her ambition is to be at the wheel of a large corporation by the age of 40.

3. hell on wheels. hell.

4. spin one's wheels, to expend or waste effort to no avail.

   He spun his wheels on that project for two years.

5. wheel and deal, to operate dynamically for one's own profit or benefit.

wheel British  

/ wiːl /

noun

1. a solid disc, or a circular rim joined to a hub by radial or tangential spokes, that is mounted on a shaft about which it can turn, as in vehicles and machines

2. anything like a wheel in shape or function

3. a device consisting of or resembling a wheel or having a wheel as its principal component

   a steering wheel

   a water wheel

4. a medieval torture consisting of a wheel to which the victim was tied and then had his limbs struck and broken by an iron bar

5. short for wheel of fortune potter's wheel

6. the act of turning

7. a pivoting movement of troops, ships, etc

8. a type of firework coiled to make it rotate when let off

9. a set of short rhyming lines, usually four or five in number, forming the concluding part of a stanza Compare bob 2

10. the disc in which the ball is spun in roulette

11. an informal word for bicycle

12. archaic a refrain

13. informal a person of great influence (esp in the phrase big wheel )

14. 1. driving or steering a vehicle or vessel

    2. in charge

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verb

1. to turn or cause to turn on or as if on an axis

2. to move or cause to move on or as if on wheels; roll

3. (tr) to perform with or in a circular movement

4. (tr) to provide with a wheel or wheels

5. to change one's mind or opinion

6. informal to be a free agent, esp to advance one's own interests

wheel More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing wheel

• asleep at the switch (wheel)
• at the wheel
• big cheese (wheel)
• cog in the wheel
• fifth wheel
• grease (oil) the wheels
• hell on wheels
• put one's shoulder to the wheel
• reinvent the wheel
• set (wheels) in motion
• spin one's wheels
• squeaky wheel gets the grease

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underwheel
  noun
• unwheel
  verb (used with object)
• wheel-less
  adjective
• wheelless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wheels
  plural

Participles

• wheeling
  present
• wheeled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• wheel
  simple
• wheels
  simple
• have wheeled
  perfect
• has wheeled
  perfect
• am wheeling
  progressive
• are wheeling
  progressive
• is wheeling
  progressive
• have been wheeling
  perfect progressive
• has been wheeling
  perfect progressive

Past

• wheeled
  simple
• had wheeled
  perfect
• was wheeling
  progressive
• were wheeling
  progressive
• had been wheeling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will wheel
  simple
• will have wheeled
  perfect
• will be wheeling
  progressive
• will have been wheeling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of wheel

First recorded before 900; (for the noun) Middle English whel(e), Old English hwēol, hweohl; cognate with Dutch wiel, Old Norse hjōl; akin to Greek kýklos, Persian charkh, Sanskrit cakra-; verb derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wheel wheels wheeled wheeling

On Saturday evening, engineers turned their attention to the element wheel, which contains filters, prisms, and other optical components.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

One part Subaru declined was the bZ’s round steering wheel, which in that car blocks the view of the instrument display at the base of the windshield.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

The broad strokes of dark composite cladding along the rocker panels, lower front and rear fascia, and around the wheel wells, signal its soft-road sensibilities—as does the 8.5 inches of ground clearance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Tesla’s Cybercab doesn’t have pedals or a steering wheel.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

After a minute of silence, I peeked and saw her staring at the wheel.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

The driverless tractor with spiked steel wheels will run over a programmed course, flattening newly spread trash to create space to bury more garbage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Differences in the texture and density of the regolith, for example, could influence how rover wheels move across the surface.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

Little wonder the S&P 500 continues to spin its wheels since hitting a record high in mid-August, even though there’s been intense sectoral volatility beneath the surface.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

The wheels of progress have turned slowly, and there appears to be little appetite to change that when it comes to the VAR audio.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

He was already taking curves on two wheels.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

If wheeled robots move goods cheaply, reliably and efficiently or robots with just arms can do the other automated tasks, what problem does a humanoid solve?

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

TMZ published photos of someone who appears to be Graham being wheeled outside of his home and into an ambulance.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

Finally, the long-anticipated moment arrived: Firefighters wheeled out a gurney carrying Hernán Alberto Gil Flores — a security guard who survived for more than a week trapped under a mountain of rubble.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

By the mid-15th century, handguns—the term for portable firearms as contrasted with artillery pieces mounted on wheeled carriages—were in regular battlefield use.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

As he wheeled into the den, Mrs. Brisbane turned to me and quietly said, “Thank you, Humphrey.”

From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney

I’m wheeling my bike off it with balletic ease, definitely not annoying my fellow commuters as I lug it down the stairs.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

"I think Samos was the perfect place to start," the 21-year-old university student said, wheeling her luggage alongside her mother as they waited for a ferry off the Greek island of Samos.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

When the convention was first announced, it sounded like it might be a thrilling opportunity to see real wheeling and dealing on a convention floor from which a nominee would eventually emerge.

From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026

“We took a little chance wheeling her back in three weeks and it worked out.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025

Holding his bike and wheeling it along beside him, he sprinted through the gates.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

Related Words

• pivot
• spin
• trundle
• twirl
• whirl