Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wheel

/ˈwiːl/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.50 in modern English

Syllables
wheel
IPA
/ˈwiːl/
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A circular device capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation or performing labour in machines.

noun

A circular device capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation or performing labour in machines.

Informal

noun

A circular device capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation or performing labour in machines.

noun

A circular device capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation or performing labour in machines.

noun

A circular device capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation or performing labour in machines.

noun

The breaking wheel, an old instrument of torture.

noun

A person with a great deal of power or influence; a big wheel.

Slang

noun

A person with a great deal of power or influence; a big wheel.

Dated; Slang

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup. Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂ Proto-Germanic *hweulō Old English hwēol Middle English whel English wheel 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, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish 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 existence, become”), Old Church Slavonic коло (kolo, “wheel”), Albanian sjell (“to bring, carry, turn around”), Avestan 𐬗𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (caraⁱti, “it circulates”), Sanskrit चरति (cárati, “it moves, wanders”). Doublet of chakra, chakram, charkha, chukker, cycle, cyclus, and kike.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: whel, hwēol, *hwehwl, *hwehwlą, *kʷekʷlóm

Usage

Inflected Forms

wheels (plural) wheels (present, singular) wheeling (participle, present) wheeled (participle, past) wheeled (past)

Derived Forms

awheel bookwheel breastwheel brushwheel bucketwheel camwheel cartwheel chainwheel coachwheel cogwheel counterwheel countwheel

Phrases

3rd wheel 5th wheel ab roller wheel ab wheel alloy wheel all-wheel all-wheel drive Archibald wheel

Frequently Paired Words

bob bobwheel

Synonyms

cartwheel tosheroon breaking wheel rim bicycle bike cycle rack

Homonyms

wheal weal weel (wine–whine merger) we'll (one pronunciation along with the wine–whine merger)

Rhymes With

feel real deal we'll steel appeal meal ideal reveal steal seal she'll

Questions

How do you pronounce wheel?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwiːl/.
What does wheel mean?
A circular device capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation or performing labour in machines.
Where does wheel come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce wheel

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wheel”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwiːl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wheel”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “wheel” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.