wheel
n. countablen. a round object that turns around a center point to help a vehicle move or to make a machine work. You find them on cars, bicycles, and even inside clocks.
n. a circular component that rotates on an axle, used to facilitate movement or perform mechanical work. Often used metonymically to refer to a steering wheel or the helm of a ship.
The front wheel of my bicycle is flat.
The driver gripped the wheel tightly as the car began to slide on the icy road.
The invention of the wheel is frequently cited as a pivotal moment in human history, enabling the transport of heavy goods across vast distances with significantly reduced friction.
From Middle English whel, from Old English hwēol, from Proto-West Germanic hwehwl, from Proto-Germanic hwehwlą, hweulō, from Proto-Indo-European kʷekʷlóm, kʷékʷlos, kʷékʷléh₂, reduplication of *kʷel- (“to turn”) and a suffix (literally "(the thing that) turns and turns"). See also West Frisian tsjil, Dutch wiel, Danish hjul; also Tocharian B kokale (“cart, wagon”), Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “cycle, wheel”), Avestan 𐬗𐬀𐬑𐬭𐬀 (caxra), Sanskrit चक्र (cakrá); and Latin colō (“to till, cultivate”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B käl- (“to bear; bring”), Ancient Greek πέλω (pélō, “to come into existence, become”), Old Church Slavonic коло (kolo, “wheel”), Albanian sjell (“to bring, carry, turn around”), Avestan 𐬗𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (caraⁱti, “it circulates”), Sanskrit चरति (cárati, “it moves, wanders”). Doublet of chakra, chakram, charkha, chukker, cycle, cyclus, and kike.
Commonly used in the plural when referring to vehicles; often appears in the idiom 'behind the wheel' to mean driving.