wheel

A2 Topic:Transportation

US /wil/ UK /wiːl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

weal /wil/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like veal /v/ vs /w/

Freq #2415

Meanings

1

noun
A round object that turns on its centre, used to move a vehicle or machine.

One of the wheels on my bike is loose.
2

noun
The round part you hold to steer a car; the steering wheel.

She sat behind the wheel and started the engine.
3

verb
To push something on wheels.

The nurse wheeled the patient down the corridor.
4

verb
To turn around suddenly.

He wheeled around when he heard his name.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

4 verb · to turn around suddenly. wheel around

More rim

Word family

Forms wheeledwheelingwheels

Derived forms all-wheelawheelbookwheelbreastwheelbrushwheelbucketwheelcamwheelcartwheelchainwheelcoachwheelcog-wheelcogwheel

Appears in

Phrases (4)

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bicycle wheel
a circular frame with a tire that turns to support and move a bicycle

Noun + noun
idle wheel
a wheel or pulley that guides a belt or keeps it under tension

Adjective + noun
paddle wheel
a large rotating wheel with blades that push a boat through water

Noun + noun
fifth wheel
a circular bearing that lets a wagon's front axle turn beneath its body

Adjective + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

reinvent the wheel
to waste time recreating something that already exists and works well

Proverbs (1)

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The squeaky wheel gets the grease

Tongue twisters (2)

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The Meal-Mill Wheel
Much water makes the meal-mill wheel work well.

Close the lips for /m/, then round them for /w/. Contrast meal and mill while keeping the /l/ at the end of each; a meal-mill grinds grain.
Windmills and the Millwheel
To the windmills said the millwheel: “As the wind wills do you still wheel?” “Yes, we still wheel when the wind wills!” To the millwheel said the windmills.

Wind here means moving air and rhymes with pinned. Contrast the vowel in will with the longer vowel in wheel, keeping the final /l/ in both.

Simplified etymology

Wheel is recorded in Old English from about AD 900. Its name belongs to an ancient word family that was probably based on a word meaning “to turn”; related forms include Sanskrit cakra and Greek kuklos, both meaning “wheel” or “circle.”

Etymology

From Middle English whel, from Old English hwēol, from Proto-West Germanic *hwehwl, from Proto-Germanic *hwehwlą, *hweulō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷlóm, *kʷékʷlos, *kʷékʷléh₂, reduplication of *kʷel- (“to turn”) and a suffix (literally "(the thing that) turns and turns"). See also West Frisian tsjil, Dutch wiel, Danish hjul; also Tocharian B kokale (“cart, wagon”), Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “cycle, wheel”), Avestan 𐬗𐬀𐬑𐬭𐬀 (caxra), Sanskrit चक्र (cakrá); and Latin colō (“to till, cultivate”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B käl- (“to bear; bring”), Ancient Greek πέλω (pélō, “to come into e…

*kʷel- Proto-Indo-European whel Middle English hwēol Old English *hwehwl Proto-West Germanic *hwehwlą Proto-Germanic *kʷekʷlóm Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Transportation

External links

# wheel

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /wil/
**IPA (UK):** /wiːl/
**Frequency rank:** 2415

## Meanings
1. A round object that turns on its centre, used to move a vehicle or machine.
2. The round part you hold to steer a car; the steering wheel.
3. To push something on wheels.
4. To turn around suddenly.

## Examples
- One of the wheels on my bike is loose.
- She sat behind the wheel and started the engine.
- The nurse wheeled the patient down the corridor.
- He wheeled around when he heard his name.

## Synonyms
- rim

## Derived Forms
- all-wheel
- awheel
- bookwheel
- breastwheel
- brushwheel
- bucketwheel
- camwheel
- cartwheel
- chainwheel
- coachwheel
- cog-wheel
- cogwheel

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kʷel-
- Root: whel
- Root: hwēol
- Root: *hwehwl
- Root: *hwehwlą
- Root: *kʷekʷlóm

## Etymology
From Middle English whel, from Old English hwēol, from Proto-West Germanic *hwehwl, from Proto-Germanic *hwehwlą, *hweulō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷlóm, *kʷékʷlos, *kʷékʷléh₂, reduplication of *kʷel- (“to turn”) and a suffix (literally "(the thing that) turns and turns"). See also West Frisian tsjil, Dutch wiel, Danish hjul; also Tocharian B kokale (“cart, wagon”), Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “cycle, wheel”), Avestan 𐬗𐬀𐬑𐬭𐬀 (caxra), Sanskrit चक्र (cakrá); and Latin colō (“to till, cultivate”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B käl- (“to bear; bring”), Ancient Greek πέλω (pélō, “to come into e…

## AI Etymology
Wheel is from Middle English whel, from Old English hwēol, from Proto-West Germanic *hwehwl, from Proto-Germanic *hwehwlą, *hweulō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷlóm, *kʷékʷlos, *kʷékʷléh₂, reduplication of *kʷel- (“to turn”) and a suffix (literally "(the thing that) turns and turns"). Important historical forms include Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-, Middle English whel, Old English hwēol, Proto-West Germanic *hwehwl, Proto-Germanic *hwehwlą, and Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷlóm. In present-day use, it can mean a round object that turns on its centre, used to move a vehicle or machine, or the round part you hold to steer a car; the steering wheel.

## Topics
- Transportation

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wheel

Meanings

Verb forms

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (4)

Idioms (1)

Proverbs (1)

Tongue twisters (2)

Simplified etymology

Etymology

Topics

External links

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