spindle — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A rod used for spinning and then winding fibres (especially wool), usually consisting of a shaft and a circular whorl positioned at either the upper or lower end of the shaft when suspended vertically from the forming thread.

   Examples

   Anna Pavlovna’s soirée was now in full swing. On all sides the spindles were humming away non-stop.

2. A rod which turns, or on which something turns.

   Examples

   the spindle of a vane

   ; the top one is acted on by the spindle and disc d, moved by the lever e;

   More examples (1)

   A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.

3. A rotary axis of a machine tool or power tool.

4. The axle of a bottom bracket.

   Examples

   Check ball bearings for pitting, cracks, disorderly conduct; cups and cones for uneven wear; spindle for straightness.

5. Certain species within the genus Euonymus, historically used to manufacture spindles for wool spinning.

6. An upright spike for holding paper documents by skewering.

   Examples

   check spindle

   receipt spindle

7. The fusee of a watch.

8. Any long and slender stalk resembling a spindle from Euonymus.

9. A yarn measure containing, in cotton yarn, 15,120 yards; in linen yarn, 14,400 yards.

10. A solid generated by the revolution of a curved line about its base or double ordinate or chord.

11. Any marine univalve shell of the genus Tibia; a spindle stromb.

12. Any marine gastropod with a spindle-shaped shell formerly in one of the three invalid genera called Fusus.

13. A cytoskeletal structure formed during mitosis.

14. A dragonfly.

15. A plastic container for packaging optical discs such as CDs or DVDs, having a central column that passes through the central holes in the discs and keeps them in a stack.

16. A muscle spindle.

17. A sleep spindle.

    Examples

    More examples (1)

    One of the fascinating characteristics of sleep spindles is that they are generated by the thalamic reticular nucleus, and do not occur in the presence of NE. In fact, LC neurons fall silent in the second preceding each spindle […]

Verb

1. To make into a long tapered shape.

   Usage

   • Transitive

2. To take on a long tapered shape.

   Usage

   • Intransitive

3. To impale on a device for holding paper documents.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   Do not fold, spindle or mutilate this document.

Noun

1. (biology) tiny fibers that are seen in cell division; the fibers radiate from two poles and meet at the equator in the middle

   Broader terms

   fiberfibre

   Examples

   chromosomes are distributed by spindles in mitosis and meiosis

2. a piece of wood that has been turned on a lathe; used as a baluster, chair leg, etc.

   Broader terms

   piece

3. any of various rotating shafts that serve as axes for larger rotating parts

   Synonyms

   mandrelmandrilarbor

   Broader terms

   rotating shaftshaft

4. a stick or pin used to twist the yarn in spinning

   Broader terms

   stick

5. any holding device consisting of a rigid, sharp-pointed object

   Synonyms

   spike

   Broader terms

   holding device

   Examples

   the spike pierced the receipts and held them in order