Spindle
English Meaning
The long, round, slender rod or pin in spinning wheels by which the thread is twisted, and on which, when twisted, it is wound; also, the pin on which the bobbin is held in a spinning machine, or in the shuttle of a loom.
- A rod or pin, tapered at one end and usually weighted at the other, on which fibers are spun by hand into thread and then wound.
- A similar rod or pin used for spinning on a spinning wheel.
- A pin or rod holding a bobbin or spool on which thread is wound on an automated spinning machine.
- Any of various mechanical parts that revolve or serve as axes for larger revolving parts, as in a lock, axle, phonograph turntable, or lathe.
- Any of various long thin stationary rods, as:
- A spike on which papers may be impaled.
- A baluster.
- Biology The spindle-shaped achromatic structure, composed of microtubules, along which the chromosomes are distributed in mitosis and meiosis.
- Coastal New Jersey See dragonfly. See Regional Note at dragonfly.
- To furnish or equip with a spindle or spindles.
- To impale or perforate on a spindle: Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate this card.
- To grow into a thin, elongated, or weak form.
