spindles

Noun

spindle (plural spindles)

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.
   • Anna Pavlovna’s soirée was now in full swing. On all sides the spindles were humming away non-stop.2005 [1868–9], Anthony Briggs, transl., War and Peace, Penguin Classics, translation of Война́ и миръ by Leo Tolstoy, Volume I, Part 1, Chapter 3, page 13
2. A rod which turns, or on which something turns.
   • the spindle of a vane
3. A rotary axis of a machine tool or power tool.
4. The axle of a bottom bracket.
   • Check ball bearings for pitting, cracks, disorderly conduct; cups and cones for uneven wear; spindle for straightness.1972, Richard Ballantine, Richard's Bicycle Book, New York: Ballantine Books, page 181
5. Certain species within the genus Euonymus, historically used to manufacture spindles for wool spinning.

   Synonyms:

   spindle tree

6. An upright spike for holding paper documents by skewering.
   • check spindle

See all 21 meanings of spindle