cartwheel
cartwheel — noun
- cartwheelsingular
- cartwheelsplural
1. a large wheel made of wood with a metal band around its outside edge, used on ca
a large wheel made of wood with a metal band around its outside edge, used on carts and wagons pulled by animals
The old cartwheel had a metal band wrapped tightly around its outer edge.
typical adjectives: old, broken, heavy, wooden
Elena leaned the heavy cartwheel against the garden wall.
Beside the path lay a broken cartwheel covered in dry mud.
locative inversion: 'beside the path lay...'
The farmer fixed the cartwheel with a new block of wood.
A cartwheel from a market cart stood beside the shop door.
- wooden cartwheel
- broken cartwheel
- heavy cartwheel
- iron-banded cartwheel
- wagon wheel
nearly identical; 'wagon wheel' is more common in everyday speech
2. a sideways acrobatic skill: placing one hand then the other on the ground, swing
a sideways acrobatic skill: placing one hand then the other on the ground, swinging your legs up and over your body, and landing back on your feet, the whole body rotating like a wheel
Ingrid did a perfect cartwheel across the grass at the summer picnic.
collocation: 'do a cartwheel'
Zara wobbled, lost her balance, and landed on her bottom while trying her first cartwheel.
Keiko placed both hands on the mat, kicked her legs sideways, and completed a steady cartwheel.
The coach asked each child to show their best cartwheel.
Amara's cartwheel was so smooth that the whole class clapped.
- do a cartwheel
- perform a cartwheel
- perfect cartwheel
- learn a cartwheel
- handspring
a similar move but usually done forward or backward rather than sideways
- roundoff
a cartwheel that lands with both feet together, used in gymnastics routines
Usage Note
Distinguish from sense 1 (WAGON WHEEL) — this sense refers to the body movement, not a physical wheel. Countable: you do 'a cartwheel,' not 'cartwheel.'
Common Mistakes
cartwheel — verb
- cartwheelpresent simple I / you / we / they
- cartwheelshe / she / it
- cartwheeledpast simple
- cartwheeling-ing form
1. to turn your body sideways, placing your hands on the ground one after the other
to turn your body sideways, placing your hands on the ground one after the other and swinging your legs up and over before landing back on your feet
Noor cartwheeled across the empty room, laughing with pure joy.
pattern: 'cartwheeled + across + place'
The boy cartwheeled down the hill and fell into a pile of leaves.
Mei-Lin cartwheeled twice before stopping, her face bright red.
The dancers cartwheeled one after another across the stage.
adverbial pattern: 'one after another'
After the race, Kwame cartwheeled past the finish line in celebration.
- cartwheel across
- cartwheel down
- cartwheel past
Grammar Patterns
cartwheel + adverb of direction (across, down, past)
Usage Note
Intransitive — you cannot 'cartwheel something.' Usually followed by a word showing direction or path, such as 'across,' 'down,' or 'past.'