freewheel
freewheel noun: a device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft.
Noun
freewheel (plural freewheels)
- A device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft.
- The mode or state of operation thus produced: Synonym of neutral.
Verb
freewheel (third-person singular simple present freewheels, present participle freewheeling, simple past and past participle freewheeled)
- Of a gear, to continue spinning after disengagement.
- Of a cyclist, to ride a bicycle without pedalling, e.g. downhill.
- On her elderly bicycle with the basketwork carrier on the handle-bars, Dorothy free-wheeled down the hill, doing mental arithmetic with three pounds nineteen and fourpence--her entire stock of money until next quarter-day.1935, George Orwell, chapter 3, in A Clergyman’s Daughter
- Of a motorist, to operate a motor vehicle which is coasting without power, e.g. downhill.
- Silently and gracefully I free-wheeled across the path of three juggernauts, [...] glided across the hard shoulder and came to rest halfway up a grass bank.1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 78
- To operate free from constraints.
freewheel meaning in Tamil and Vietnamese
freewheel in Tamil
- ஒருவழிப் பல்லிணை
freewheel in Vietnamese
- device
- bánh răng
Forms of freewheel
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | freewheels |
| alternative form | free wheel |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | freewheels |
| present participle | freewheeling |
| past participle | freewheeled |
| past | freewheeled |
Origin of freewheel
From free + wheel.
Words formed from freewheel
Questions about freewheel
- What does freewheel mean?
- Freewheel means a device in a transmission that disengages the driveshaft from the driven shaft when the driven shaft rotates faster than the driveshaft.
- What is freewheel in Tamil?
- Freewheel in Tamil is ஒருவழிப் பல்லிணை. See Freewheel meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is freewheel?
- Freewheel can be a noun or a verb.
- What is the plural of freewheel?
- The plural of freewheel is freewheels.
Words near freewheel in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: freewheel (page history and authors); freewheel (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-freewheel.wav.
Cite this entry: “freewheel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/freewheel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.