wheelie
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: derivation
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *kʷel-
Proto-Indo-European *kʷekʷléh₂
Proto-Germanic *hweulō
Old English hwēol
Middle English whel
English wheel
English -ie
English wheelie
From wheel + -ie.
Inflected forms:
form: wheelies
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: wheely
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: wheelies
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: wheelieing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: wheelied
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: wheelied
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: An action or stunt where a bicycle, motorcycle, or other vehicle is ridden for a short period while it is standing only on its rear wheel or wheels.
pos: noun
tags: informal
examples: Jim fell off his bike when he was trying to do a wheelie.
With them [bicycles], children can accomplish such unique and delightfully dangerous stunts as “wheelies”—that is, riding at a fast speed with the machine's front wheel raised completely above the ground.
Bikes are pointing their noses in the air nowadays with the help of a new gadget called the Wheelie-Bar. By attaching the device to the rear of your cycle, you can tilt back on the hind wheel; wooden skate rollers at the end of the bar let you ride high, the way stock-car dragsters do.
In keeping with his overall emphasis on skill, [Doug] Domokos says his most difficult trick is one he performs on solid ground. During the show, you'll see him pull up the front wheel of his ATV [all-terrain vehicle], then step over the handlebars and continue the wheelie while seated on the headlight.
I learned how to let the clutch out slo-ow-ly so my tractor wouldn't pop a wheely and go hauling over backward.
The bikers pop wheelies and execute speedy figure eights along the busy street. Still, something more purposeful than joyriding would seem to be on their minds.
gloss: A wheelchair user.
pos: noun
tags: Australia
informal
examples: It is also a nightmare for the wheelies, or wheelchair users. Not only is it hard enough to find a bloody wheelchair in the airport these days, but to push them to this back-of-beyond gate is a job in itself.
Of the wheelchair users, or wheelies[…], Phil is the other group leader. He has been paraplegic for about ten years. The idea of the group leaders is that they provide support and encouragement from a position of experience.
gloss: To ride, or perform the stunt of riding, a vehicle on its rear wheel or wheels.
pos: verb
tags: informal
intransitive
examples: Downshift while the engine is still revving well. This will prevent missed gears when you stomp the shift lever in a panic to regain power. Also, if you wait too long to shift down, you risk the possibility of wheelieing when you catch the next lower cog. A wheelie will cause you to shut off for a second … and it's all over brother. Go back down and try again.
The other possible problem with uphill, downhill and crested roads is that bikes tend to wheelie over them. This isn't really a problem unless you have to make a turn while the front wheel is still in the air. The rear brake will help to keep the front down.
Our faces light up for each other, and with the greatest grin he jumps his rusty banana seat off the curb and wheelies around in the space created for him.
At some point in nearly any hillclimb, you'll have to shift your weight from the rear to the front to keep the front wheel down as it gets steeper and you get more traction. You can also feather the clutch to keep from wheelying over, as well as using throttle control.
I guess I was starting to feel super-confident, a bit like the wheelchair basketball guy who had wheelied out of my hospital room that day. Plus, I was trying to make it so I could laugh in the face of my injuries.
Derived words: front wheelie
heelies
nose wheelie
Translations: