spinning wheel

noun

1. a device formerly used for spinning wool, flax, etc., into yarn or thread, consisting essentially of a single spindle driven by a large wheel operated by hand or foot.

spinning wheel

noun

1. a wheel-like machine for spinning at home, having one hand- or foot-operated spindle

Word History and Origins

Origin of spinning wheel¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425

Example Sentences

Normally, Hubble measures its location in space with a system that includes three gyroscopes—rapidly spinning wheels that can sense forces in three directions.

From Science Magazine

I thought the spinning wheel might even hypnotize him, like in an old movie I’d seen with Ms. Mac.

From Literature

They leap out of the spinning wheel’s orbit, galloping through an animated desert, girls and boys side by side.

From New York Times

As the potter works the spinning wheel, the friction between their hands and the soft clay helps them shape it into all kinds of forms and creations.

From Science Daily

The freeway was a dangerous, kinetic collage of spinning wheels and whirling, sparking hubcaps and rectangular hunks of metal flying forward, any piece of which, at any instant, could crash into me.

From Los Angeles Times