A circular frame turning about an axis; a
rotating disk, whether solid, or a frame composed of an outer rim,
spokes or radii, and a central hub or nave, in which is inserted
the axle, -- used for supporting and conveying vehicles, in
machinery, and for various purposes; as, the wheel of a wagon, of a
locomotive, of a mill, of a watch, etc. [1913 Webster] The gasping
charioteer beneath the wheel Of his own car. --Dryden. [1913
Webster]
Any instrument having the form of, or chiefly
consisting of, a wheel. Specifically: [1913 Webster] (a) A spinning
wheel. See under Spinning. [1913 Webster] (b) An
instrument of torture formerly used. [1913 Webster] His examination
is like that which is made by the rack and wheel. --Addison. [1913
Webster] Note: This mode of torture is said to have been first
employed in Germany, in the fourteenth century. The criminal was
laid on a cart wheel with his legs and arms extended, and his limbs
in that posture were fractured with an iron bar. In France, where
its use was restricted to the most atrocious crimes, the criminal
was first laid on a frame of wood in the form of a St. Andrew's
cross, with grooves cut transversely in it above and below the
knees and elbows, and the executioner struck eight blows with an
iron bar, so as to break the limbs in those places, sometimes
finishing by two or three blows on the chest or stomach, which
usually put an end to the life of the criminal, and were hence
called coups-de-grace -- blows of mercy. The criminal was then
unbound, and laid on a small wheel, with his face upward, and his
arms and legs doubled under him, there to expire, if he had
survived the previous treatment. --Brande. [1913 Webster] (c)
(Naut.) A circular frame having handles on the periphery, and an
axle which is so connected with the tiller as to form a means of
controlling the rudder for the purpose of steering. [1913 Webster]
(d) (Pottery) A potter's wheel. See under Potter. [1913 Webster] Then I
went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on
the wheels. --Jer. xviii.
[1913 Webster] Turn, turn, my wheel! This earthen
jar A touch can make, a touch can mar. --Longfellow. [1913 Webster]
(e) (Pyrotechny) A firework which, while burning, is caused to
revolve on an axis by the reaction of the escaping gases. [1913
Webster] (f) (Poetry) The burden or refrain of a song. [1913
Webster] Note: "This meaning has a low degree of authority, but is
supposed from the context in the few cases where the word is
found." --Nares. [1913 Webster] You must sing a-down a-down, An you
call him a-down-a. O, how the wheel becomes it! --Shak. [1913
Webster] [1913 Webster]
A bicycle or a tricycle; a velocipede. [1913
Webster]
A rolling or revolving body; anything of a
circular form; a disk; an orb. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
A turn revolution; rotation; compass. [1913
Webster] According to the common vicissitude and wheel of things,
the proud and the insolent, after long trampling upon others, come
at length to be trampled upon themselves. --South. [1913 Webster]
[He] throws his steep flight in many an aery wheel. --Milton. [1913
Webster] A
wheel within a wheel, or Wheels
within wheels, a complication of circumstances, motives, etc.
Balance
wheel. See in the Vocab. Bevel wheel,
Brake
wheel, Cam wheel,
Fifth
wheel, Overshot
wheel, Spinning
wheel, etc. See under Bevel, Brake, etc. Core wheel.
(Mach.) (a) A mortise gear. (b) A wheel having a rim perforated to
receive wooden cogs; the skeleton of a mortise gear. Measuring
wheel, an odometer, or perambulator. Wheel and
axle (Mech.), one of the elementary machines or mechanical
powers, consisting of a wheel fixed to an axle, and used for
raising great weights, by applying the power to the circumference
of the wheel, and attaching the weight, by a rope or chain, to that
of the axle. Called also axis in
peritrochio, and perpetual
lever, -- the principle of equilibrium involved being the same
as in the lever, while its action is continuous. See Mechanical
powers, under Mechanical. Wheel
animal, or Wheel
animalcule (Zool.), any one of numerous species of rotifers
having a ciliated disk at the anterior end. Wheel
barometer. (Physics) See under Barometer. Wheel boat, a
boat with wheels, to be used either on water or upon inclined
planes or railways. Wheel bug
(Zool.), a large North American hemipterous insect (Prionidus
cristatus) which sucks the blood of other insects. So named
from the curious shape of the prothorax. Wheel
carriage, a carriage moving on wheels. Wheel
chains, or Wheel ropes
(Naut.), the chains or ropes connecting the wheel and rudder.
Wheel
cutter, a machine for shaping the cogs of gear wheels; a gear
cutter. Wheel horse,
one of the horses nearest to the wheels, as opposed to a leader, or
forward horse; -- called also wheeler. Wheel lathe,
a lathe for turning railway-car wheels. Wheel lock.
(a) A letter lock. See under Letter. (b) A kind of gunlock in
which sparks were struck from a flint, or piece of iron pyrites, by
a revolving wheel. (c) A kind of brake a carriage. Wheel ore
(Min.), a variety of bournonite so named from the shape of its twin
crystals. See Bournonite. Wheel pit
(Steam Engine), a pit in the ground, in which the lower part of the
fly wheel runs. Wheel plow, or
Wheel
plough, a plow having one or two wheels attached, to render it
more steady, and to regulate the depth of the furrow. Wheel press,
a press by which railway-car wheels are forced on, or off, their
axles. Wheel race,
the place in which a water wheel is set. Wheel rope
(Naut.), a tiller rope. See under Tiller. Wheel stitch
(Needlework), a stitch resembling a spider's web, worked into the
material, and not over an open space. --Caulfeild & S. (Dict.
of Needlework). Wheel tree
(Bot.), a tree (Aspidosperma
excelsum) of Guiana, which has a trunk so curiously fluted that
a transverse section resembles the hub and spokes of a coarsely
made wheel. See Paddlewood. Wheel urchin
(Zool.), any sea urchin of the genus Rotula having a round, flat
shell. Wheel window
(Arch.), a circular window having radiating mullions arranged like
the spokes of a wheel. Cf. Rose window,
under Rose. [1913
Webster]
Wheeler \Wheel"er\, n. [1913 Webster]
One who wheels, or turns. [1913 Webster]
A maker of wheels; a wheelwright. [Obs.] [1913
Webster]
A wheel horse. See under Wheel. [1913 Webster]
(Naut.) A steam vessel propelled by a paddle
wheel or by paddle wheels; -- used chiefly in the terms
side-wheeler and stern-wheeler. [1913 Webster]
A worker on sewed muslin. [Eng.] [1913
Webster]
(Zool.) The European goatsucker. [Prov. Eng.]
[1913 Webster]
Word Net
WheelerNoun
1 Scottish archaeologist (1890-1976) [syn:
Sir
Mortimer Wheeler,
Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler]
2 someone who makes and repairs wooden wheels
[syn: wheelwright]
3 the man at the outermost end of the rank in
wheeling
5 a draft horse harnessed behind others and
nearest the wheels of a vehicle [syn: wheel
horse]
English
Quotations
- "Excellent," said Sherlock Holmes. "Send the boy for a four-wheeler, and we shall be off at once." Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Greek Interpreter"]
Derived terms
Wheeler is a family name
and may refer to:
- Albert H. Wheeler (1915–1994), American academic and politician
- Alison Wheeler (born 1972), British singer
- Anne Wheeler (born 1946), Canadian film and television director
- Benjamin Wheeler (Oxford), English academic
- Benjamin Ide Wheeler (1854–1927), American academic
- Bert Wheeler (1895–1968), American comedian
- Candace Wheeler (1827–1923), American interior and textile designer
- Caron Wheeler (born 1963), English R&B singer
- Charles Wheeler (cinematographer) (1915–2004), American cinematographer
- Charles Wheeler (homeopathist) (1868–1939), British homeopathic physician
- Charles Wheeler (journalist) (born 1923), British journalist and broadcaster
- Charles Wheeler (painter) (1881–1977), Australian painter
- Charles Wheeler (politician) (born 1926), American politician
- Charles Wheeler (sculptor) (1892–1974), British sculptor
- Charles K. Wheeler, a U.S. Representative from Kentucky
- Cheryl Wheeler (born 1951), American singer-songwriter
- J. Craig Wheeler, astronomer at University of Texas
- Damen Wheeler (born 1977), American football player
- Dan Wheeler (born 1977), American baseball pitcher
- David Wheeler (actor), actor, writer, and director
- David Wheeler (computer scientist), British computer scientist
- David A. Wheeler, computer programmer and writer
- Donald Wheeler, American academic and bureaucrat, accused spy
- Donald J. Wheeler, American statistician and author
- Earle Wheeler (1908–1975), American general
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox, (1850-1919), American poet
- Ellen Wheeler (born 1961), American actress
- Erica Wheeler, American folk singer and songwriter
- Everett Pepperrell Wheeler (1840–1925), American politician
- Felix Wheeler, British functionary, the Crown Equerry
- Flex Wheeler (born 1965), American professional bodybuilder
- Geoffrey Wheeler (1897–1990), British historian and military officer
- George Wheeler (1842–1909), American military officer, explorer, and cartographer
- George Wheeler (Born 1994) Student (2008)
- George Campbell Wheeler (1880–1938), British military officer, recipient of the Victoria Cross
- George Godfrey Massy Wheeler (1873–1915), British military officer, recipient of the Victoria Cross
- H. A. Wheeler (born 1938), American auto racing promoter and track owner
- Harold Wheeler, American composer, conductor, record producer, and music director
- Hugh Wheeler (1912–1987), English writer
- Hugh Wheeler (general) (1789–1857), British general
- Jacquetta Wheeler, British supermodel
- Jillian Wheeler, American actress and singer
- John Archibald Wheeler (1911-2008), American physicist
- John Craig Wheeler, astronomer at University of Texas
- John Wheeler (commerce) (fl. 1600s), an English businessman
- John Wheeler (audio/video technologist) (born 1957), of Berkeley, California
- Sir John Wheeler (politician) (born 1940), British politician and Northern Ireland Office minister
- John Neville Wheeler, (1886–1973) American newspaperman, publishing executive and magazine editor.
- Johnny Wheeler (born 1928), footballer for Tranmere Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool, New Brighton
- John Wheeler (representative) (1823-1906), U.S. Representative from New York
- John H. Wheeler, American diplomat, politician and historian
- John Wheeler (ironmaster) of Wollaston, Stourbridge, England (died 1708)
- John C. Wheeler, chemistry professor at UCSD
- John Wheeler (meteorolgist), a TV meteorolgist for WDAY and WDAZ
- John Wheeler (nondualist) author and teacher of nonduality http://thenaturalstate.org/
- John K. Wheeler a nuclear engineer and podcast producer of "This Week in Nuclear" at http://thisweekinnuclear.com ]]
- John Wheeler (actor) (born 1930), American actor
- John Wheeler-Bennett (1902–1975), British historian
- Joseph Wheeler (1836–1906), American politician and military commander
- Joseph Wheeler (musicologist) (1927–1977), British musician and musicologist
- Kenny Wheeler (born 1930), Canadian composer
- Lucille Wheeler (born 1935), Canadian alpine skier
- Maggie Wheeler (born 1961), American actress
- Mollie Wheeler (born 1995), Student (2008)
- Mortimer Wheeler (1890–1976), British archaeologist
- Nathaniel Wheeler, American businessman
- Nick Wheeler (born 1982), American rock musician
- Peter Wheeler (born 1948), English rugby union international footballer
- Paul Wheeler (born 1965), Welsh footballer
- Roger Wheeler (businessman), American businessman
- Roger Neil Wheeler (born 1941), British general
- Roger W. Wheeler (1907–1969), American military officer, proponent of life–saving techniques
- Roy Wheeler (politician) (1909-1971), Australian politician
- Shannon Wheeler, American cartoonist
- Tim Wheeler (born 1977), Irish rock musician
- Tony Wheeler (born 1963) Truck Driver
- Wayne Wheeler (1869–1927), American temperance activist
- William A. Wheeler (1819–1887), American politician, 19th Vice President of the US
- William Morton Wheeler (1865–1937), American entomologist and myrmecologist
- Wilson Roy Wheeler (1905–1988), Australian ornithologist
- Wheeler Hazard Peckham (1833–1905), American lawer
- Wheeler Thackston (born 1944), American orientalist
Fictional
- Agent Wheeler, a fictional FBO agent from TV series Postman pat
- Joey Wheeler, a character from the animated TV series Yu-Gi-Oh!
- Matthew Wheeler, one of the five Planeteers from Captain Planet and the Planeteers
- Megan Wheeler, a character from the American TV series Law & Order: Criminal Intent
- Rick Wheeler, a.k.a. Ryu Suzaku, in F-Zero: GP Legend
- Russ Wheeler, a character played by Cary Elwes in the film Days Of Thunder
- Serenity Wheeler, a character from the animated TV series Yu-Gi-Oh!
wheeler in German: Wheeler
wheeler in French: Wheeler
wheeler in Dutch: Wheeler
wheeler in Slovenian: Wheeler