windmill

[wind-mil]

noun

1. any of various machines for grinding, pumping, etc., driven by the force of the wind acting upon a number of vanes or sails.

2. (loosely) a wind generator; wind plant.

3. Aeronautics.,  a small air turbine with blades, like those of an airplane propeller, exposed on a moving aircraft and driven by the air, used to operate gasoline pumps, radio apparatus, etc.

4. an imaginary opponent, wrong, etc. (in allusion to Cervantes'Don Quixote ).

   to tilt at windmills.

verb (used with or without object)

1. Aeronautics.,  (of a propeller engine or turbojet engine) to rotate or cause to rotate solely under the force of a passing airstream.

windmill

/ ˈwɪndˌmɪl, ˈwɪnˌmɪl /

noun

1. a machine for grinding or pumping driven by a set of adjustable vanes or sails that are caused to turn by the force of the wind

2. the set of vanes or sails that drives such a mill

3. Also called: whirligig. US and Canadian name: pinwheel. a toy consisting of plastic or paper vanes attached to a stick in such a manner that they revolve like the sails of a windmill

4. an imaginary opponent or evil (esp in the phrase tilt at or fight windmills )

5. a small air-driven propeller fitted to a light aircraft to drive auxiliary equipment Compare ram-air turbine

6. an informal name for helicopter

7. an informal name for propeller

verb

1. to move or cause to move like the arms of a windmill

2. an informal name for accommodation bill

3. (intr) (of an aircraft propeller, rotor of a turbine, etc) to rotate as a result of the force of a current of air rather than under power

Word History and Origins

Origin of windmill¹

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; wind ¹, mill ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see tilt at windmills.

Example Sentences

I leave the museum and walk past a coach car park in the general direction of the windmills.

From BBC

Some Oregon progressives give a nod to the bureaucracy that once mired nuclear reactors and say it’s time to give windmills and solar panels a faster pass.

From Salon

He had barely left the plane at Prestwick Airport when he turned to a group of journalists and reiterated his distaste for wind farms, declaring "stop the windmills - you're ruining your countries".

From BBC

But he soon became infuriated at plans to construct an offshore wind farm nearby, arguing that the "windmills" - as he prefers to call the structures - would ruin the view.

From BBC

Others were more biting: “The EGO has landed” mocked the spectacle, while one paper highlighted his signature complaint with the headline, “U.S. President blasts ‘windmills’ and migration as visit begins.”

From Salon