wheelchair

American  

[weel-chair, hweel-] / ˈwilˌtʃɛər, ˈʰwil- /

noun

• wheelchairs
  plural

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

---

wheelchair British  

/ 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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• wheelchairs
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of wheelchair

First recorded in 1690–1700; wheel + chair

---

Explanation

A wheelchair is a device people use to get around independently if they are unable to walk. You can easily navigate sidewalks, businesses, and schools in a wheelchair, as long as there are appropriate ramps and elevators available. A wheelchair is just what it sounds like: a chair with wheels. When people have injuries or conditions that don't allow them to use their legs for walking, using a wheelchair gives them a new kind of mobility. While the earliest wheelchairs had to be pushed by another person, today you can propel a wheelchair yourself, either manually, by pushing the wheels to move forward, or using electricity.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wheelchair wheelchairs

Nunez Landry has muscular dystrophy, uses a power wheelchair, and needs help doing basic tasks such as opening the refrigerator.

From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026

When my mom got off the van she didn’t have a wheelchair because it went to needier passengers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Logan attempts to medicate him so that he and Caliban can rest, but Xavier fights him off, falls out of his wheelchair and has a telepathic seizure that begins to affect everyone around him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

While many actors are typecast, he moved effortlessly from Shakespeare and Dickens to the command of the USS Enterprise and his famous wheelchair in X-Men.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

He developed multiple sclerosis, which eventually forced him into a wheelchair.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

They climb ladders, romp in mud and push each other around in secondhand wheelchairs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Survivors disembarked a rescue boat at the French port of Calais in the mid-morning, some on stretchers and in wheelchairs, many wrapped in emergency blankets, an AFP correspondent said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

He also worked as a 'chairman' in nearby Bath, transporting sick and infirm people through the city's steep streets in wheelchairs and sedan chairs despite his own physical injuries.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

But these additional and specific challenges faced - from struggling service dogs to overheating wheelchairs - are often overlooked, even in public advice and emergency planning, say campaigners and researchers.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Matt remembered Mr. MacGregor and El Patron sitting in adjoining wheelchairs after their operations.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---