noun
- Large rotating wheels with flat blades or buckets around the rim, used to propel a ship or boat through water.
Usage: Usually plural; commonly found on steamboats and riverboats; Can be mounted on the side (side-wheeler) or stern (stern-wheeler) of a vessel
Examples
- The old steamboat's paddlewheels churned through the Mississippi River.
- Paddlewheels were a common sight on 19th-century riverboats.
- The captain watched as the paddlewheels pushed the vessel upstream.
- Historic paddlewheels are still preserved in some river museums.
- The rhythmic splashing of the paddlewheels echoed across the water.