Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cartwheel

/ˈkɑɹtˌwil/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.45 in modern English

Syllables: cart-wheel
IPA: /ˈkɑɹtˌwil/

17

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The wheel of a cart.

noun

A gymnastic maneuver whereby the gymnast rotates to one side or the other while keeping arms and legs outstretched, spinning for one or more revolutions.

noun

A crown coin; its value, 5 shillings.

British usage; Obsolete; Slang

noun

A silver dollar of the larger size produced before 1979.

American usage; Obsolete; Slang

verb

To perform the gymnastics feat of a cartwheel.

verb

To flip end over end: normally said of a crashing vehicle or aircraft.

Example Sentences

"Near-synonyms: wagon wheel, artillery wheel"
"Half-a-crown is known as an alderman, half a bull, half a tusheroon, and a madza caroon; whilst a crown piece, or five shillings, may be called either a bull, or a caroon, or a cartwheel, or a coachwheel, or a thick-un, or a tusheroon."
"The race car hit a bump and cartwheeled over the finish line."

Etymology

Etymology tree Old Norse kartrbor. Proto-Germanic *kradô Proto-West Germanic *krat Old English crætder. Middle English cart English cart Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup. Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂ Proto-Germanic *hweulō Old English hwēol Middle English whel English wheel English cartwheel From cart + wheel.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈkɑɹtˌwil/
British English: /ˈkɑːtˌwiːl/

Usage

British usage
Obsolete
Slang
American usage

Inflected Forms

cartwheels (plural) cartwheels (present, singular) cartwheeling (participle, present) cartwheeled (participle, past) cartwheeled (past)

Derived Forms

cartwheeler splitwheel

Phrases

cartwheel hat

Synonyms

wagon wheel artillery wheel silver dollar

Questions

How do you pronounce cartwheel?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɑɹtˌwil/.
What does cartwheel mean?: The wheel of a cart.
Where does cartwheel come from?: Etymology tree Old Norse kartrbor. Proto-Germanic *kradô Proto-West Germanic *krat Old English crætder. Middle English cart English cart Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-redup. Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂ Proto-Germanic *hweulō Old English hwēol Middle English whel English wheel English cartwheel From cart + wheel.

How to pronounce cartwheel

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