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wheel and axle
noun
: a mechanical device consisting of a grooved wheel turned by a cord or chain with a rigidly attached axle (as for winding up a weight) together with the supporting standards
Examples of wheel and axle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Image There is the electric motor repair shop, the pneumatic shop for brakes and air-conditioning, the car repair shop and the wheel and axle shop.
—David Waldstein, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Archaeologists know that wheel and axle technology was invented about 6,000 years ago, which suggests that Proto-Indo-European can’t be any older than that.
—Kurt Kleiner, Discover Magazine, 16 Feb. 2024
But simple machines--defined by Renaissance natural philosophers as the lever, the wheel and axle, the wedge, the screw, the inclined plane, and the pulley--are hidden beneath the skins and exoskeletons of many a creature.
—Discover Magazine, 4 Aug. 2011
University of Southern California biomechanist Michael Habib, who was not involved in the study, says springs and levers enable more rapid acceleration than wheels and axles do.
—Jason G. Goldman, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2019
So the Mariners in 2013 began replacing the wheels and axles with more robust models — designating millions of dollars as unanticipated costs eligible to be paid for with admissions taxes by the Public Facilities District that oversees Safeco Field.
—Daniel Beekman, The Seattle Times, 28 Aug. 2018
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Word History
First Known Use
1759, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near wheel and axle
Cite this Entry
“Wheel and axle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wheel%20and%20axle. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
wheel and axle
noun
: a simple machine consisting of a grooved wheel turned by a cord or chain with a firmly attached axle (as for winding up a weight) together with supports
More from Merriam-Webster on wheel and axle
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wheel and axle
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