| Compound Forms/Forme composte |
| Inglese | Italiano |
asleep at the wheel,
also US: asleep at the switch adj | informal, figurative (not paying attention) (idiomatico) | con la testa tra le nuvole loc agg |
| distratto, sovrappensiero agg |
| I'm sorry; I should have understood what you wanted. I was asleep at the wheel. |
| Scusa, non ho capito cosa volevi. Ero distratto. |
| at the wheel expr | (driving) | al volante |
| al posto di guida |
| Ernest was at the wheel when a pine tree fell across the road. |
| Ernest era al volante quando sulla strada è caduto un pino. |
| at the wheel expr | figurative (in charge) (figurato: al comando) | al timone |
| al comando |
| balance wheel n | (timepiece: regulates beats) | bilanciere nm |
| The balance wheel in this alarm clock rotates at a rate of 4 beats per second. |
| behind the wheel expr | (driving, in control of a vehicle) (alla guida di veicoli) | al volante |
| big wheel n | UK (fairground Ferris wheel) | ruota panoramica nf |
| big wheel n | US, informal ([sb] important or powerful) (informale) | pezzo grosso nm |
| car wheel n | often plural (wheel of an automobile) (automobili) | ruota nf |
| castor wheel n | (roller underneath furniture) | rotella nf |
| My sofa is easy to move as it has castor wheels. |
| Il mio divano è facile da spostare perché ha le rotelle. |
cog in the wheel,
cog in the machine n | figurative (small part of a large system) (figurato) | una rotella dell'ingranaggio nf |
| He's just a cog in the wheel, not a leader. |
| È solo una rotella dell'ingranaggio, non un dirigente. |
color wheel (US),
colour wheel (UK) n | (chart showing color relationships) | cerchio cromatico nm |
daisy wheel,
daisywheel n | (typewriter or printer element) | stampante a margherita nf |
| driving wheel n | (main wheel in machine) | ruota motrice nf |
| driving wheel n | (railroad: driver) | carrozza motrice, motrice nf |
| escape wheel n | (moving part of a timepiece) | ruota di scappamento nf |
| An escape wheel in a clock controls the speed of the hands. |
| In un orologio la ruota di scappamento regola la velocità delle lancette. |
| Ferris wheel n | (wheel at a fairground) | ruota panoramica nf |
| The London Eye is one of the world's tallest Ferris wheels. You have a terrific view from the top of a Ferris wheel. |
| La London Eye è una delle ruote panoramiche più alte del mondo. C'è una vista fantastica dall'alto di una ruota panoramica. |
| fifth wheel n | (transport: axle device) (meccanismo tra semirimorchio e trattore) | ralla nf |
fifth wheel,
fifth wheel trailer n | (towable recreational vehicle) | ralla nf |
| roulotte nf |
| fifth wheel n | (transport: spare wheel) | ruota di scorta nf |
| ruotino nm |
| fifth wheel n | informal, figurative (unnecessary person or thing) (figurato) | ultima ruota del carro nf |
| flywheel n | (rotating wheel in a machine) (meccanica) | volano nm |
| Flywheels are used in some machines to regulate the speed of operation or store kinetic energy. |
| four-wheel n as adj | (having four wheels) | a quattro ruote loc agg |
| four-wheel n as adj | (powered by four wheels) (veicoli: trazione) | integrale agg |
| a quattro ruote, a quattro ruote motrici loc agg |
| four-wheel drive n | (vehicle: SUV) (informale: veicolo) | 4x4 nm |
| Drivers in rural areas need a four-wheel drive to cope with winter conditions. |
| I conducenti nelle aree rurali hanno bisogno di una 4x4 per affrontare le condizioni climatiche invernali. |
| four-wheel drive n as adj | (vehicle: of SUV type) | di 4x4, relativo ad un 4x4 loc agg |
| front-wheel drive n | (car: power to front wheels only) (autoveicoli) | trazione anteriore nf |
| Her new car's got front-wheel drive; it's a lot better on slippery roads than her old one was. |
| La sua nuova macchina ha la trazione anteriore; se la strada è scivolosa, si guida molto meglio di quella che aveva prima. |
| grinding wheel | (wheel used for grinding) | mola nf |
idle pulley,
idler pulley,
idle wheel n | (loose pulley) | puleggia folle nf |
| idle wheel n | (machine part) | ingranaggio folle nm |
| measuring wheel n | (device for calculating length) | ruota di misurazione nf |
| mill wheel | (for driving mill) | ruota idraulica del mulino nf |
| nose wheel n | (part of a plane's undercarriage) (aeronautica) | carrello di prua, carrello anteriore nm |
| paddle wheel n | (wheel that propels a paddle boat) (navigazione) | ruota a pale |
pinwheel,
Catherine wheel n | (firework) | fuoco d'artificio a girandola nm |
| The children were excited by the pinwheels in the fireworks show. |
| I bambini erano entusiasti dei fuochi d'artificio a girandola dello spettacolo pirotecnico. |
pizza wheel,
pizza cutter n | (tool for cutting pizza) | rotella tagliapizza, rotellina tagliapizza nf |
| potter's wheel n | (device: pottery) (di vasaio) | tornio nm |
| put a spoke in [sb]'s wheel v expr | UK, informal, figurative (plan: ruin) (figurato: rovinare piani) | mettere i bastoni tra le ruote a [qlcn] vtr |
| Peter was planning to go away for the weekend, until the boss put a spoke in his wheel by giving him a load of work to get done by Monday morning. |
| ratchet wheel n | (mechanical engineering) | ruota a cricco nf |
| rocchetto nm |
rotifer,
wheel animalcule n | (tiny aquatic animal) | rotiferi nmpl |
| roulette wheel n | (spinning part of roulette table) | ruota della roulette nf |
| ship's wheel n | (helm: steering wheel of a sailing vessel) | timone nm |
| spinning wheel n | (device for spinning fibre into yarn) | filatoio nm |
| As a child I had a spinning wheel to make yarn from wool. |
| Da bambina avevo un filatoio per filare la lana. |
spur wheel,
spur gear n | (mechanical engineering) (congegno meccanico) | ingranaggio cilindrico nm |
| steering wheel n | (control wheel of a vehicle) (automobile) | volante nm |
| A driver should not need to take their hands off the steering wheel to turn on the indicator. |
| Il conducente non deve togliere le mani dal volante per mettere la freccia. |
sun gear,
sun wheel n | (mechanical engineering) (meccanismo) | solare, ingranaggio solare nm |
| take the wheel v expr | (drive a vehicle) (veicolo: guidare) | mettersi al volante v rif |
| third wheel n | (odd person out among three people) (figurato: persona di troppo) | terzo incomodo nm |
waterwheel,
water wheel n | (wheel powered by water) | ruota idraulica nf |
| In early cotton mills a waterwheel was often used to generate electricity. |
| wheel alignment n | (vehicle maintenance) (allineamento) | assetto delle ruote loc nom |
| wheel and axle | (simple machine) | carrucola nf |
| wheel and deal v expr | (engage in business schemes) | intrallazzare⇒ vi |
| wheel balancing n | (vehicle maintenance) (bilanciamento) | equilibratura degli pneumatici loc nom |
wheel clamp,
clamp n | (vehicle immobilizing device) | ganascia blocca ruota nf |
| bloccaruota nm |
| wheel horse n | (wheeler: horse nearest vehicle) (di carro, ecc.) | cavallo vicino alle ruote nm |
| wheel horse n | US, regional (left-hand plow horse) (animale da tiro) | trapelo nm |
| animale da tiro nm |
| wheel horse n | US, regional, figurative (strong, reliable worker) | gran lavoratore nm |
| wheel lock n | (military: gun lock) | acciarino a ruota nm |
| wheel lock n | (military: gun with type of lock) | pistola a ruota nf |
| wheel of fortune n | (gambling device) | ruota della fortuna nf |
wheel [sth] out,
wheel out [sth] vtr + adv | (bring into view) | portare fuori, spingere fuori, trascinare fuori, tirare fuori vtr |
| wire wheel n | (brush in shape of wheel) | spazzola a disco nf |
| wire wheel n | (wheel with metal spokes) | ruota a raggi nf |
worm gear,
worm wheel n | (gear driven by worm) | vite senza fine, vite ad evolvente nf |
