spool

CEFRB2

/spuːl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A round object that holds thread, wire, or film.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A temporary storage area for electronic mail, etc.

Examples

  • I bought three spools of black thread and one spool of white.

  • Please give me a spool of white thread.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1

Also pronounced

  • /spʉl/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. One of the rotating assemblies of a gas turbine engine, composed of one or more turbine stages, a shaft, and one or more compressor or fan stages.

  2. A reel; a device around which thread, wire or cable is wound, especially a cylinder or spindle.

  3. A splinter caught in the skin.

More examples

In context

  • The high-pressure spool rotates faster than the intermediate- and low-pressure spools, as the high-pressure turbine is driven by superheated combustion gases straight out of the burners, while the high-pressure compressor has to spin very fast to compress air...

  • If you need to reload film, the cassette can be rewound slightly by turning the hub located on one end of its spool.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She wound the thread around a small plastic blank to keep it from tangling.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English spole (possibly via Old Northern French spole, espole), from Middle Dutch spoele, from Old Dutch *spōla, *spuola, from Proto-Germanic *spōlǭ (“spool”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to cleave, split”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Spoule (“spool”), Dutch spoel (“spool”), German Spule (“spool”), Swedish spole (“spool”), Icelandic spóla (“spool; reel”). The aviation usage is based on the visual similarity of one of the spools of a turbine engine to a spool used for thread (especially in cross-section). See also spill.