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spindle

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A rod used for spinning and then winding fibres.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

spinduhl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈspɪndəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. spinning

    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.

  2. A rod which turns, or on which something turns.

  3. An upright spike for holding paper documents by skewering.

  4. A stick or pin used to twist the yarn in spinning

  5. Any long and slender stalk resembling a spindle from Euonymus.

  6. A yarn measure containing, in cotton yarn, 15,120 yards; in linen yarn, 14,400 yards.

verb

  1. transitive

    To make into a long tapered shape.

  2. intransitive

    To take on a long tapered shape.

  3. transitive

    To impale on a device for holding paper documents.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (spinning) 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.

Used this way, spindle is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Rod

spindle whorlvertical spindle

Long

spindle pole

Muscle

muscle spindle

Cytoskeletal

mitotic spindlevalve spindle

Other combinations

spindle cellspindle speed

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • spindle hornnounCompound term

    Cow-like creature with the glossy coat of a horse and the agility of a goat and the long horns of an antelope.

  • spindle treenounCompound term

    Any shrubby trees or woody vines of the genus Euonymus having showy usually reddish berries.

  • spindle-tree familynounCompound term

    Trees and shrubs and woody vines usually having bright-colored fruits.

  • common spindle treenounCompound term

    Small erect deciduous shrub having tough white wood and cathartic bark and fruit.

  • winged spindle treenounCompound term

    Bushy deciduous shrub with branches having thin wide corky longitudinal wings.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.