third wheel
An individual or object that serves no useful purpose.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I feel like a third wheel when I go out with them.”
“They invited me to dinner, but I felt like a third wheel while they talked about their vacation.”
“Although he was invited to join his friends for the evening, he felt like a third wheel throughout the night as they focused entirely on each other.”
- 01
big wheel
A person with a great deal of power or influence, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.
- 02
break the wheel
To end a pattern of oppression, inequality, injustice, or abuse.
- 03
fifth wheel
Anything superfluous or unnecessary.
- 04
grease the wheels
To create conditions likely to produce or hasten favorable future developments.
- 05
hamster wheel
To cycle fruitlessly.
- 06
hell on wheels
A situation that is tough, aggressive, lawless, and wild.
- 07
reinvent the wheel
To do work unnecessarily when it has already been done satisfactorily by others; to attempt to devise a solution to a problem when a solution already exists.
- 08
set of wheels
A car.
Last updated August 10, 2026