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spindle

Syllabification: (spin·dle)
Pronunciation: /ˈspindl/
Translate spindle | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of spindle

noun

  • 1a slender rounded rod with tapered ends used in hand spinning to twist and wind thread from a mass of wool or flax held on a distaff.
  • a pin or rod used on a spinning wheel to twist and wind the thread.
  • a pin bearing the bobbin of a spinning machine.
  • a measure of length for yarn, equal to 15,120 yards (13,826 m) for cotton or 14,400 yards (13,167 m) for linen.
  • North American a pointed metal rod on a base, used to impale paper items for temporary filing.
  • a turned piece of wood used as a banister or chair leg.
  • 2a rod or pin serving as an axis that revolves or on which something revolves.
  • the vertical rod at the center of a record turntable that keeps the record in place during play.
  • 3 Biology a slender mass of microtubules formed when a cell divides. At metaphase, the chromosomes become attached to it by their centromeres before being pulled toward its ends.
  • 4 (also spindle tree) a shrub or small tree with slender toothed leaves and pink capsules containing bright orange seeds. The hard timber was formerly used for making spindles.
    • Genus Euonymus, family Celastraceae: several species, in particular the Eurasian E. europaeus

verb

[with object]
  • impale (a piece of paper) on a metal spindle for temporary filing purposes:do not fold, spindle, or mutilate

Origin:

Old English spinel, from the base of the verb spin

spindle in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of spindle in the British & World English dictionary
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