wheelchair

[ weel-chair, hweel- ]

noun

1. a chair mounted on wheels for use by persons who cannot walk.

wheelchair

/ ˈwiːlˌtʃɛə /

noun

1. med a special chair mounted on large wheels, for use by invalids or others for whom walking is impossible or temporarily inadvisable

Word History and Origins

Origin of wheelchair¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; wheel + chair

Example Sentences

After the shooting, he used a wheelchair — gold-plated and velvet-lined to his specifications.

From Washington Post

She can only move via a wheelchair and can’t speak, so he developed hand gestures with Holly to communicate.

From Washington Post

Her experience both as a soldier and as someone who uses a wheelchair are evident in how she reacted to the danger of the moment.

From Fortune

Police had no trouble arresting people who peacefully protested George Floyd’s death last summer or arresting people in wheelchairs who peacefully protested against repealing the Affordable Care Act.

From Washington Blade

My 85-year-old father loved people, and he waved hello to everyone as he tooled around his Escondido assisted-living facility in his tricked-out electric wheelchair.

From Voice of San Diego

The series also reversed a long trend that saw the character paralyzed by the Joker and confined to a wheelchair for a decade.

From The Daily Beast

Jasmin helps her transfer in and out of her wheelchair, get dressed, and bathe.

From The Daily Beast

Former Missouri State Senator Chuck Graham is paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair.

From The Daily Beast

She could no longer go to the orchestra; she was confined to a wheelchair.

From The Daily Beast

Unfortunately, his disability—he is wheelchair-bound—was also in her crosshairs.

From The Daily Beast

Farrow was going down the hall like a professional heading for the wheelchair on a strict order.

From Project Gutenberg

The wheelchair was one of those old large ones with a wicker seat and back.

From Project Gutenberg

Had it not been for the doctor, Mercy might never have gotten out of her wheelchair, or gone to Briarwood Hall.

From Project Gutenberg

"Tough," I said, thinking of the kid sitting out there all day in his wheelchair, straining his eyes across the palmetto flats.

From Project Gutenberg

It was tough enough to be pinned to a wheelchair without being able to wiggle so much as a toe.

From Project Gutenberg