reel
reel (rēl)
intransitive verb
- to give way or fall back; sway, waver, or stagger as from being struck
- to lurch or stagger about, as from drunkenness or dizziness
- to go around and around; whirl
- to feel dizzy; have a sensation of spinning or whirling
Etymology: ME relen < the n.: from the sensation of whirling
transitive verb
reel (rēl)
reel (rēl)
noun
- a frame or spool on which thread, wire, tape, film, a net, etc. is wound
- such a frame set on the handle of a fishing rod, to wind up or let out the line
- the quantity of wire, thread, film, tape, etc. usually wound on one reel
- in some lawn mowers, a set of spiral steel blades rotating on a horizontal bar set between wheels
Etymology: ME < OE hreol < Gmc *hrehulaz < IE base *krek-, to strike, make a weaving motion > Gr krekein, to weave, Latvian krekls, shirt
transitive verb, intransitive verb
reel in
- to wind on a reel
- to pull in (a fish) by winding a line on a reel
reel off
reel out
(right) off the reel
☆Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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