Library / English Dictionary

REEL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

An American country dance which starts with the couples facing each other in two lines

Synonyms:

reel; Virginia reel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("reel" is a kind of...):

longways; longways dance (country dancing performed with couples in two long lines facing each other)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A lively dance of Scottish Highlanders; marked by circular moves and gliding steps

Synonyms:

reel; Scottish reel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("reel" is a kind of...):

square dance; square dancing (American country dancing in which couples form squares)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reel"):

highland fling (a vigorous Scottish reel)

eightsome (a Scottish reel for eight dancers)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A winder around which thread or tape or film or other flexible materials can be wound

Synonyms:

bobbin; reel; spool

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("reel" is a kind of...):

winder (mechanical device around which something can be wound)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reel"):

filature (a bobbin used in spinning silk into thread)

shuttle (bobbin that passes the weft thread between the warp threads)

Derivation:

reel (wind onto or off a reel)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Winder consisting of a revolving spool with a handle; attached to a fishing rod

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("reel" is a kind of...):

winder (mechanical device around which something can be wound)

Holonyms ("reel" is a part of...):

fishing pole; fishing rod (a rod of wood or steel or fiberglass that is used in fishing to extend the fishing line)

Holonyms ("reel" is a member of...):

fishing gear; fishing rig; fishing tackle; rig; tackle (gear used in fishing)

Derivation:

reel (wind onto or off a reel)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A roll of photographic film holding a series of frames to be projected by a movie projector

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("reel" is a kind of...):

film; photographic film (photographic material consisting of a base of celluloid covered with a photographic emulsion; used to make negatives or transparencies)

Derivation:

reel (wind onto or off a reel)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Music composed for dancing a reel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reel" is a kind of...):

dance music (music to dance to)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Wind onto or off a reel

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "reel" is one way to...):

roll; twine; wind; wrap (arrange or or coil around)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reel"):

reel off; unreel (unwind from or as if from a reel)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

reel (a winder around which thread or tape or film or other flexible materials can be wound)

reel (winder consisting of a revolving spool with a handle; attached to a fishing rod)

reel (a roll of photographic film holding a series of frames to be projected by a movie projector)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Walk as if unable to control one's movements

Example:

The drunken man staggered into the room

Synonyms:

careen; keel; lurch; reel; stagger; swag

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "reel" is one way to...):

walk (use one's feet to advance; advance by steps)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

reeler (someone who walks unsteadily as if about to fall)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis

Example:

The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy

Synonyms:

gyrate; reel; spin; spin around; whirl

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "reel" is one way to...):

go around; revolve; rotate (turn on or around an axis or a center)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reel"):

whirligig (whirl or spin like a whirligig)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

The reeling action also brings platelets and clusters of platelets closer together, reducing the overall volume of the clot followed by complete dissolution by fibrinolytic enzymes.

(How And Why Blood Clots Shrink, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

He leaned heavily upon the two Jews when they led him to his corner, and he reeled when their support was withdrawn.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Always, they broke camp in the dark, and the first gray of dawn found them hitting the trail with fresh miles reeled off behind them.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

An examination by experts leaves little doubt that a personal contest between the two men ended, as it could hardly fail to end in such a situation, in their reeling over, locked in each other’s arms.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

After playing some Italian songs, Miss Bingley varied the charm by a lively Scotch air; and soon afterwards Mr. Darcy, drawing near Elizabeth, said to her: Do not you feel a great inclination, Miss Bennet, to seize such an opportunity of dancing a reel?

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

A cry followed; he reeled, staggered, clutched at the table and held on, staring with injected eyes, gasping with open mouth; and as I looked there came, I thought, a change—he seemed to swell—his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter—and the next moment, I had sprung to my feet and leaped back against the wall, my arms raised to shield me from that prodigy, my mind submerged in terror.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“Jim,” says he, “rum”; and as he spoke, he reeled a little, and caught himself with one hand against the wall.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

When he had steadied himself he stepped forward, but reeled again and nearly fell.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

These filopodia then attach to fibrin fibers and reel them in using the same hand-over-hand action used by a person pulling on a rope.

(How And Why Blood Clots Shrink, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Wilson led viciously with his left, but misjudged his distance, receiving a smashing counter on the mark in reply which sent him reeling and gasping to the ropes.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)