wheelie

American

[hwee-lee, wee-] / ˈʰwi li, ˈwi- /

noun

a small, usually folding, metal frame with wheels for carrying luggage or small packages.
a maneuver in which a bicycle, motorcycle, or car has its front wheel or wheels momentarily lifted off the ground.

wheelie British

/ ˈwiːlɪ /

noun

a manoeuvre on a bicycle or motorbike in which the front wheel is raised off the ground

"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

Etymology

Origin of wheelie

First recorded in 1960–65; wheel + -ie

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Police have released a description of distinctive tattoos on a man found dead in a wheelie bin, as part of officers' efforts to identify him.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

Other London boroughs, such as Wandsworth and Havering, don't collect wheelie bins and ask all residents to place their bin bags on the pavement or just inside the boundary of their property.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

Possibly a wheelie version of “Everesting”—the climbing challenge in which cyclists do hill repeats to replicate the 29,029 foot ascent of Mt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

Only one person has done a single wheelie for six and a half hours.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

“I bet you could pop a wheelie on this thing!”

From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023