wheelhouse

[ hweel-hous, weel- ]

/ ˈʰwilˌhaʊs, ˈwil- /

noun, plural wheel·hous·es [hweel-hou-ziz, weel-] /ˈʰwilˌhaʊ zɪz, ˈwil-/.

Nearby words

wheeler, wheeler, burton kendall, wheeler, joseph, wheeler, william almon, wheeler-dealer, wheelhouse, wheelie, wheelie bin, wheeling, wheelman, wheelock

Idioms

in one’s wheelhouse,

Baseball. (of a pitch) within the zone that is most advantageous for a batter to hit a home run.
within one’s area of expertise or interest: There are some subjects that are in your wheelhouse and some that are not.

in the same wheelhouse, very similar and usually in the same category: The two folk singers are in the same wheelhouse.

Origin of wheelhouse

First recorded in 1805–15; wheel + house

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wheelhouse

Your brother, the serial killer of serial killers, is right in your wheelhouse.
Badass TV Women or Just Bad? ‘Homeland,’ ‘Sons of Anarchy’ & More|Maria Elena Fernandez|November 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Economic management, Romney likes to say, is his “wheelhouse.”
Mitt Romney’s Problem With Conservatives: He’s Not Selling What They Want|Peter Beinart|February 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
As an historian, Lepore finds the cause of Tea Party well inside her own wheelhouse.
Great New Reads|The Daily Beast|October 15, 2010|DAILY BEAST
We always look at whenever someone's launching something new, particularly when it's in our wheelhouse.
Runway vs. Housewives|Choire Sicha|August 19, 2009|DAILY BEAST

What it came down to was that one man in the bridge or wheelhouse could pretty well make any part of the ship go or not go.
The Knights of Arthur|Frederik Pohl
We were all on deck before the crew had surrounded the wheelhouse.
In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories|Robert Barr
When his mind was so far made up he wanted to finish the matter, so he turned to the wheelhouse and climbed the ladder again.
The Man|Bram Stoker
On this particular boat there was a wheelhouse aft unused, and generally filled up with old steamer chairs.
In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories|Robert Barr
The two captains were still arguing it out near the cabin door, but the mate was on his way to the wheelhouse.
Four Afloat|Ralph Henry Barbour

British Dictionary definitions for wheelhouse

wheelhouse

/ (ˈwiːlˌhaʊs) /

noun

another term for pilot house

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wheelhouse

wheelhouse

1835, "structure enclosing a large wheel," especially one over the steering wheel of a steamboat, thus "pilot house;" from wheel (n.) + house (n.). Baseball slang sense of "a hitter's power zone" attested by 1990.