March 27, 2015 – Word of the Day

wheel

A wheel is used for movement. Wheels are found on vehicles, machines, toys, and sports equipment.

• Cars have four wheels.
• Large trucks may have up to eighteen wheels.
• Wheels on a shopping cart turn in many different directions.
• Office chairs usually have wheels.
• Roller skates, roller blades, and skateboards all have wheels.

Roller blades are also known as inline skates.

There are many different kinds of wheels:

A spinning wheel is used to make thread.
A roulette wheel is used for gambling.
A steering wheel is used to turn a boat in a particular direction.
The steering wheel on a car is used for keeping the car straight or turning.

The word "wheel" can also be used as a verb:

• Wheel your chair over here and take a look at something on my computer.
• Toby wheeled a load of dirt into the backyard using a wheelbarrow.

Many expressions include the word "wheel."

• The wheels are turning in his mind. (He’s thinking hard about something.)
• Don’t get behind the wheel if you’ve had too much to drink. (get behind the wheel = drive)
• The conductor of the train fell asleep at the wheel. (He wasn’t paying attention.)
• There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. (A solution already exists for this problem.)
• Ron popped a wheelie on his motorcycle. (He drove his motorcycle a short distance on only the back tire.)
• That’s a nice set of wheels. (That’s a nice car.)
• He drives an eighteen wheeler. (He drives a large truck with eighteen wheels.)

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