Pronunciations (2)
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/ˈwɪn(d).mɪl/
Pronunciation notes
- UK
- US
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ˈwɪnd.mɪl
Noun
A machine which translates linear motion of wind to rotational motion by means of adjustable vanes called sails.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo, meaning vortex, and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.
The building or structure containing such machinery.
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There was once a windmill and a baker's shop in the middle of Rabbitland. Three rabbits, Rodney, Rudolph and Rosie lived in the windmill.
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The home of the high-spirited French can-can has been laid temporarily low after the sails of the red-painted windmill on top of the Moulin Rouge, the most celebrated cabaret in Paris, tumbled inexplicably to the ground in the early hours.
A wind turbine, a device for converting wind power into electricity.
Usage- Colloquial
- proscribed
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More examples (2)
“I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. They’re noisy. They kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard? Go under a windmill someday. You’ll see more birds than you’ve ever seen in your life.”
“The other thing I say to Europe: we’ve – we will not allow a windmill to be built in the United States. They’re killing us. They’re killing the beauty of our scenery.”
A child's toy consisting of vanes mounted on a stick that rotate when blown by a person or by the wind.
- Synonyms
A dunk where the dunker swings his arm in a circular motion before throwing the ball through the hoop.
A pitch where the pitcher swings his arm in a circular motion before throwing the ball.
A guitar move where the strumming hand mimics a turning windmill.
A breakdancing move in which the dancer rolls their torso continuously in a circular path on the floor, across the upper chest, shoulders and back, while twirling the legs in a V shape in the air.
Any of various muscle exercises in which a large deal of the body makes a great circle, typically one where a kettlebell is raised overhead and the torso is rotated to the other side with the hand reaching its foot (hitting the core, glutes, hamstrings, trapezius, rhomboids, deltoids and rotator cuffs) but sometimes even a windshield wiper.
Any of various large papilionid butterflies of the genus Byasa, the wings of which resemble the vanes of a windmill.
The false shower.
An imaginary enemy, but presented as real.
Usage- Figurative
- Synonyms
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to fight windmills
The act of windmilling.
A tactic in which a piece repeatedly gains material, while simultaneously creating an inescapable series of alternating direct and discovered checks.
- Synonyms
Verb
To rotate with a sweeping motion.
Usage- Intransitive
- Transitive
- Examples
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She ran down the hill, windmilling her arms with glee.
The main thing now was to find the steering wheel. At first, Billy windmilled his arms, hoping to find it by luck.
More examples (2)
True to her word, her hips windmilled in a frenzy.
As the Pirate Captain strained at the ham, the whale began to spasm and buck about in the water. Its tail thrashed wildly up and down. Its flippers windmilled in the air uselessly.
To (become disengaged and) rotate freely.
Usage- Intransitive
- of a rotating part of a machine
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The axle broke and the wheel windmilled in place briefly before careening through the wall.
To (become disengaged and) rotate freely. To be rotated by the force of the fluid passing through (the propeller or turbine rotor).
Usage- Intransitive
- of a propeller or turbine rotor
- of a rotating part of a machine
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More examples (4)
The stern dropped just as the captain began to get his control room crew to react to orders again. His head struck an instrument console. What slim hopes his crew had died with him. The Politovskiy was falling backwards, her propeller windmilling the wrong way as she slid to the bottom of the sea.
When he went to switch on his rotary engine again, the Le Rhone refused to pick up. Nothing happened! The propeller simply windmilled in the slip stream. Garros knew immediately what was wrong and cursed himself for his imbecility.
The propeller windmilled in front of them. Creede tried to start the engine. It growled like something angry, died away. "We're ... gonna have to ... ride this thing ... to the ground."
[…] the propeller blade on number-four engine windmilled in the air stream. "I wasn't too concerned about it, really," recalls Butchart. "B-29 engines are not all that dependable."
To move in order to rotate the penis in a circle (similar to the rotation of a windmill).
Usage- Intransitive
- Slang
Noun
a mill that is powered by the wind
- Broader terms
generator that extracts usable energy from winds
- Synonyms
- Broader terms