WINDMILL Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

windmill

[ wind-mil ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

any of various machines for grinding, pumping, etc., driven by the force of the wind acting upon a number of vanes or sails.
(loosely) a wind generator; wind plant.
Aeronautics. a small air turbine with blades, like those of an airplane propeller, exposed on a moving aircraft and driven by the air, used to operate gasoline pumps, radio apparatus, etc.
an imaginary opponent, wrong, etc. (in allusion to Cervantes' Don Quixote ):
to tilt at windmills.

verb (used with or without object)

Aeronautics. (of a propeller engine or turbojet engine) to rotate or cause to rotate solely under the force of a passing airstream.

windmill

/ ˈwɪndˌmɪl; ˈwɪnˌmɪl /

noun

a machine for grinding or pumping driven by a set of adjustable vanes or sails that are caused to turn by the force of the wind
the set of vanes or sails that drives such a mill
Also calledwhirligig a toy consisting of plastic or paper vanes attached to a stick in such a manner that they revolve like the sails of a windmill US and Canadian namepinwheel
an imaginary opponent or evil (esp in the phrase tilt at or fight windmills )
a small air-driven propeller fitted to a light aircraft to drive auxiliary equipment Compare ram-air turbine
an informal name for helicopter
an informal name for propeller

verb

to move or cause to move like the arms of a windmill
an informal name for accommodation bill
intr (of an aircraft propeller, rotor of a turbine, etc) to rotate as a result of the force of a current of air rather than under power

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of windmill¹

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; wind ¹, mill ¹

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Idioms and Phrases

see tilt at windmills .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The Democratic establishment has failed now twice against Donald Trump, a man who thinks that windmills cause cancer.

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“When the Going Was Good” is at its best when Carter is the underdog biting at ankles, or a Don Quixote who learns to tilt at the right windmills.

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The shrewd, vivifying juxtaposition pits crude, primal, static stone, its huge weight pressing the ground beneath your feet, against sleek, industrially elegant windmills spinning overhead to catch the invisible airstream and generate similarly imperceptible energy.

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Our palm panoply extends to the ritzy Canary Island date palm, the pygmy date and windmill palms, and a mini-monarchy of queen and king palms, which look a little haphazardly asymmetrical.

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She also pledged to tear down wind farms which she called "windmills of shame", leave the EU's asylum system and "throw out" gender studies professors.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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