wheel around

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Definition

Verb: 1. To turn or change direction sharply, as if rotating on a central point. This describes a pivoting movement, often of a person, vehicle, or animal. 2. To cause someone or something to turn sharply in this manner. This is the transitive use, meaning to make another person or object wheel around.

Usage and Examples
  • Intransitive Verb (to turn oneself):
    • Hearing his name, he wheeled around to see who had called him.
    • The bird wheeled around in the sky and dove toward the water.
  • Transitive Verb (to turn someone/something else):
    • The nurse wheeled the patient around to face the window.
    • She grabbed his shoulders and wheeled him around to look at the mess.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
  • The phrase often implies a swift, decisive, or dramatic turn. It is more forceful than simply "turn around."
  • It can be used figuratively to describe a sudden change in opinion, focus, or strategy.
    • The company wheeled around and adopted a completely new marketing approach after the survey results.
Variants and Related Words
  • Wheel (verb): The base verb, meaning to turn or cause to turn.
    • He wheeled his bicycle into the garage.
  • About-face / About-turn (noun): A complete reversal of direction or opinion. While not a verb phrase, it describes a similar concept of a sharp turn.
  • Pivot (verb): To turn on or as if on a central point. This is a close synonym but often implies a more balanced, less forceful rotation.
Synonyms
  • Spin around: Emphasizes speed.
  • Swing around: Suggests a wider, more arcing turn.
  • Turn sharply/abruptly: A more general description.
  • Whirl around: Emphasizes a very fast, spinning motion.
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Wheel away: To move something away on wheels or as if on wheels.
    • The waiter wheeled away the dessert cart.
  • Wheel in/out: To bring in or take out using a wheeled device.
    • They wheeled in a new television for the presentation.
Idioms and Fixed Phrases
  • To wheel and deal: This is a separate, fixed idiom meaning to engage in clever, shrewd, or sometimes unscrupulous negotiations or business dealings. It does not involve physical turning.
    • He made his fortune wheeling and dealing in the stock market.
Verb
  1. change directions as if revolving on a pivot
    • They wheeled their horses around and left
  2. wheel somebody or something

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