wheelhouse

noun

wheel·​house ˈ(h)wēl-ˌhau̇s How to pronounce wheelhouse (audio)
plural wheelhouses
1
: pilothouse
Looking out at the all-but-empty bay from the wheelhouse of the new 28-foot research boat …Bill Nemitz
He climbed a rickety rope ladder to the ship's deck, then another five flights of stairs to the wheelhouse.Daniel Machalaba
2
: a place or center of control or leadership (as in an organization)
But while there was momentary calm in the wheelhouse, there was still a real question whether anyone was really in command of the administration's foreign-policy machinery.David Gelman et al.
3
US
a
baseball : the section of the strike zone where it is easiest for the batter to hit the ball well
The home run came on a 3–2 pitch. [Danny] Graves tried to get Jenkins with a sinker. "It was right in his wheelhouse," Graves said.John Fay
b
: an area that matches a person's skills or expertise
… he was right in his wheelhouse—politics is where [Stephen] Colbert soars.Adam Chitwood

Examples of wheelhouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Solving the insurance crisis is something that's very much in Wallace's wheelhouse, and she's been developing some important ideas and tools to try to fix it. Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 23 Jan. 2025 Apple is not directly part of that program, which looks to be more of an industrialization project rather than something in the company’s typical wheelhouse. Jesse Pound, CNBC, 23 Jan. 2025 That playbook is wheelhouse stuff at Halas Hall by now. Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2025 The Sundance Film Festival is considering a big move for 2027, but the 2025 feature film and episodic programs find the Robert Redford founded gathering very much in its traditional wheelhouse with a mix of big-name projects, politics, and what might just be the next big thing. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 11 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for wheelhouse 

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wheelhouse was in 1824

Dictionary Entries Near wheelhouse

Cite this Entry

“Wheelhouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wheelhouse. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

wheelhouse

noun
wheel·​house -ˌhau̇s How to pronounce wheelhouse (audio)
1
2
: the place of control or leadership (as in an organization)
3
: an area that matches a person's skills or expertise
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!