Axle Meaning

/ˈæksəl/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Listen pronunciation

nounShoulder.

nounThe pin or spindle on which a wheel revolves, or which revolves with a wheel.

When I started to fix the language, I got wrapped around the axle.
The axle is broken.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The car would not move because the broken ____ needed replacement.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car's ____ broke when it hit a very deep hole in the main road.

From Middle English axel, axle, eaxle, from Old English eaxl (“shoulder, armpit”), from Proto-West Germanic *ahslu (“shoulder”), from Proto-Germanic *ahslō (“shoulder”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs-l-eh₂, from *h₂eḱs- (“axis, axle”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian acsle (“shoulder”), Dutch oksel (“armpit”), German Achsel (“armpit”), Swedish axel (“shoulder”), Latin axilla (“armpit”), Latin axis (“axle”) (whence English axis, atelier, and via Latin āla English ala, aisle), Ancient Greek ἄξων (áxōn) (whence English axo-, axon), Greek άξονας (áxonas, “axle”), Sanskrit अक्ष (ákṣa, “axle”), Sanskrit कक्ष (kakṣá, “room, armpit”), Russian ось (osʹ, “axle”).

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The car would not move because the broken ____ needed replacement.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The car's ____ broke when it hit a very deep hole in the main road.

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