windmill

CEFRB1

/ˈwɪn(d).mɪl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A machine with blades turned by wind to produce power or pump water.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A wind turbine, a device for converting wind power into electricity.

Examples

  • I had never seen a windmill until I visited the Netherlands.

  • Napoleon's headquarters were in an unused windmill.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
4

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The building or structure containing such machinery.

  2. A machine which translates linear motion of wind to rotational motion by means of adjustable vanes called sails.

  3. A child's toy consisting of vanes mounted on a stick that rotate when blown by a person or by the wind.

More examples

In context

  • She ran down the hill, windmilling her arms with glee.

  • The axle broke and the wheel windmilled in place briefly before careening through the wall.

  • to fight windmills

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The farmer used the rotating blades of the blank to crush wheat into flour.

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

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English wyndmylne, wyndmylle, equivalent to wind + mill. Cognate with Scots wyndmyln, wyndmyl, Saterland Frisian Wíendmäälne, West Frisian wynmûne, Dutch windmolen, Afrikaans windmeul, Dutch Low Saxon windmölle (Achterhooks), wiendmeule (Drents, Veluws), German Low German Windmöhl, German Windmühle, Danish vindmølle, Norwegian Bokmål vindmølle, Norwegian Nynorsk vindmølle, vindmylne, Swedish vindmölla, Icelandic vindmylla. (imaginary enemy): A reference to Don Quixote tilting at windmills.