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wheels

n. uncountable
B1 Intermediate US //ˈhwiɫz// UK //wˈiːlz// wheels Slang

n. a car or another vehicle. You use this word when you want to sound casual or cool while talking about your ride.

n. a motor vehicle, particularly an automobile. Informal or slang register; frequently used in synecdoche where a part represents the whole.


SIMPLE

I finally got my own wheels.

CONTEXTUAL

He spent all summer working at the garage just so he could afford some decent wheels for college.

COMPLEX

While the public transport system is reliable, having your own set of wheels provides a level of autonomy that is hard to replicate in more rural areas.

Synonyms
Usage

Usually appears in the plural form 'wheels' even when referring to a single vehicle.

Pitfall

I bought a new wheel yesterday.I bought some new wheels yesterday.In this slang sense, the word must be plural to mean 'a car'; the singular refers only to the round object on the axle.

Idioms8 entries

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