wheel (w?l, hw?l)n.1. A solid disk or a rigid circular ring connected by spokes to a hub, designed to turn around an axle passed through the center.2. Something that rotates like a wheel or or has a wheel as its principal part or characteristic, as:a. The steering device on a vehicle.b. A potter’s wheel.c. A water wheel.d. A spinning wheel.e. Games A device used in roulette and other games of chance.f. A firework that rotates while burning.g. Informal A bicycle.3. A large, roughly circular block of cheese.4. A wheel-shaped instrument on which victims were bound for torture and execution in medieval and early modern Europe.5. wheels Forces that provide energy, movement, or direction: the wheels of commerce.6. The act or process of turning; revolution or rotation.7. A military maneuver executed in order to change the direction of movement of a formation, as of troops or ships, in which the formation is maintained while the outer unit describes an arc and the inner or center unit remains stationary as a pivot.8. wheels Slang A motor vehicle or access thereto: Do you have wheels tonight?9. Slang A person with a great deal of power or influence: a wheel in state government.v. wheeled, wheel·ing, wheels v.tr.1. To roll, move, or transport on wheels or a wheel.2. To cause to turn around or as if around a central axis; revolve or rotate.3. To provide with wheels or a wheel.v.intr.1. To turn around or as if around a central axis; revolve or rotate.2. To roll or move on or as if on wheels or a wheel.3. To fly in a curving or circular course: A flock of gulls wheeled just above the dock.4. To turn or whirl around in place; pivot: “The boy wheeled and the fried eggs leaped from his tray” (Ivan Gold).5. To reverse one’s opinion or practice: Don’t be surprised if the boss wheels about on that idea.Idioms: at/behind the wheel1. Operating the steering mechanism of a vehicle; driving.2. Directing or controlling; in charge. wheel and deal Informal To engage in the advancement of one’s own interests, especially in a canny, aggressive, or unscrupulous way.[Middle English, from Old English hw?ol; see kwel- in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.wheel (wi?l) n1. (Mechanical Engineering) a solid disc, or a circular rim joined to a hub by radial or tangential spokes, that is mounted on a shaft about which it can turn, as in vehicles and machines2. anything like a wheel in shape or function3. (Mechanical Engineering) a device consisting of or resembling a wheel or having a wheel as its principal component: a steering wheel; a water wheel. 4. (Arms & Armour (excluding Firearms)) the wheel a medieval torture consisting of a wheel to which the victim was tied and then had his limbs struck and broken by an iron bar5. (Classical Myth & Legend) short for wheel of fortune, potter’s wheel6. the act of turning7. (Military) a pivoting movement of troops, ships, etc8. (General Physics) a type of firework coiled to make it rotate when let off9. (Poetry) a set of short rhyming lines, usually four or five in number, forming the concluding part of a stanza. Compare bob2710. (Gambling, except Cards) the disc in which the ball is spun in roulette11. (Automotive Engineering) US and Canadian an informal word for bicycle12. (Music, other) archaic a refrain13. informal chiefly US and Canadian a person of great influence (esp in the phrase big wheel)14. (Automotive Engineering) at the wheel a. driving or steering a vehicle or vesselb. in charge15. (Nautical Terms) at the wheel a. driving or steering a vehicle or vesselb. in chargevb16. (when: intr sometimes foll by about or round) to turn or cause to turn on or as if on an axis17. to move or cause to move on or as if on wheels; roll18. (tr) to perform with or in a circular movement19. (Mechanical Engineering) (tr) to provide with a wheel or wheels20. (often foll by: about) to change one’s mind or opinion21. wheel and deal informal to be a free agent, esp to advance one’s own interests[Old English hweol, hweowol; related to Old Norse hv?l, Greek kuklos, Middle Low German w?l, Dutch wiel] ?wheel-less adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014wheel (?wil, wil) n. 1. a circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis, as on or in vehicles or machinery. 2. any machine, apparatus, instrument, etc., shaped like this or having a circular frame, disk, or revolving drum as an essential feature: a potter’s wheel. 3. steering wheel. 4. Naut. a. a circular frame with an axle connecting to the rudder of a ship, for steering. b. paddle wheel. 5. a bicycle. 6. a round object, decoration, etc.: a wheel of cheese. 7. an old instrument of torture in the form of a circular frame on which the victim was stretched until disjointed. 8. pinwheel (def. 2). 9. a rotating instrument that Fortune is represented as turning so as to bring about changes or reverses in human affairs. 10. wheels, a. moving, propelling, or animating agencies: the wheels of commerce. b. Slang. a personal means of transportation, esp. a car. 11. a cycle, recurring action, or steady progression: the wheel of days and nights. 12. a wheeling or circular movement: the intricate wheels of the folk dances. 13. someone active and influential, as in business or politics; an important person: a big wheel. v.t. 14. to cause to turn, rotate, or revolve, as on an axis. 15. to perform (a movement) in a circular or curving direction. 16. to move, roll, or convey on wheels, casters, etc.: The waiters wheeled the tables out. v.i. 17. to turn on or as if on an axis or about a center; revolve, rotate, or pivot. 18. to move in a circular or curving course: pigeons wheeling above. 19. to change direction or course by turning or seeming to turn the opposite way (often fol. by about or around): He wheeled about and glared at us. 20. to roll on or as if on wheels; travel smoothly: The car wheeled along the highway. Idioms: 1. at the wheel, a. at the helm of a ship, the steering wheel of a motor vehicle, etc. b. in command or control. 2. wheel and deal, to operate dynamically and esp. craftily for one’s own profit or benefit. [before 900; Middle English whel(e), Old English hw?ol, hweohl, c. Middle Low German w?l, Middle Dutch wiel, Old Norse hj?l; akin to Greek kýklos (see cycle), Skt cakrá] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.wheelPast participle: wheeledGerund: wheelingImperativePresentPreteritePresent ContinuousPresent PerfectPast ContinuousPast PerfectFutureFuture PerfectFuture ContinuousPresent Perfect ContinuousFuture Perfect ContinuousPast Perfect ContinuousConditionalPast ConditionalImperativewheelwheelPresentI wheelyou wheelhe/she/it wheelswe wheelyou wheelthey wheelPreteriteI wheeledyou wheeledhe/she/it wheeledwe wheeledyou wheeledthey wheeledPresent ContinuousI am wheelingyou are wheelinghe/she/it is wheelingwe are wheelingyou are wheelingthey are wheelingPresent PerfectI have wheeledyou have wheeledhe/she/it has wheeledwe have wheeledyou have wheeledthey have wheeledPast ContinuousI was wheelingyou were wheelinghe/she/it was wheelingwe were wheelingyou were wheelingthey were wheelingPast PerfectI had wheeledyou had wheeledhe/she/it had wheeledwe had wheeledyou had wheeledthey had wheeledFutureI will wheelyou will wheelhe/she/it will wheelwe will wheelyou will wheelthey will wheelFuture PerfectI will have wheeledyou will have wheeledhe/she/it will have wheeledwe will have wheeledyou will have wheeledthey will have wheeledFuture ContinuousI will be wheelingyou will be wheelinghe/she/it will be wheelingwe will be wheelingyou will be wheelingthey will be wheelingPresent Perfect ContinuousI have been wheelingyou have been wheelinghe/she/it has been wheelingwe have been wheelingyou have been wheelingthey have been wheelingFuture Perfect ContinuousI will have been wheelingyou will have been wheelinghe/she/it will have been wheelingwe will have been wheelingyou will have been wheelingthey will have been wheelingPast Perfect ContinuousI had been wheelingyou had been wheelinghe/she/it had been wheelingwe had been wheelingyou had been wheelingthey had been wheelingConditionalI would wheelyou would wheelhe/she/it would wheelwe would wheelyou would wheelthey would wheelPast ConditionalI would have wheeledyou would have wheeledhe/she/it would have wheeledwe would have wheeledyou would have wheeledthey would have wheeledCollins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011