reel

Noun

1. A shaky or unsteady gait.
2. A lively dance originating in Scotland.
3. The music of this dance; often called a Scottish (or Scotch) reel.
4. A kind of spool, turning on an axis, on which yarn, threads, lines, or the like, are wound.
5. A device consisting of radial arms with horizontal stats, connected with a harvesting machine, for holding the stalks of grain in position to be cut by the knives.
6. A short compilation of sample film work used as a demonstrative resume in the entertainment industry.
7. (capitalized, sometimes) A chronological collection of pictures or short videos published by a user on an app or website and typically only available for a short period.

Verb

1. To wind on a reel.
2. To spin or revolve repeatedly.
3. To unwind; to bring or acquire something by spinning or winding something else.
4. To walk shakily or unsteadily; to stagger; move as if drunk or not in control of oneself.
5. To back off, step away, or sway backwards unsteadily and suddenly.
6. To make or cause to reel.
7. To have a whirling sensation; to be giddy.
8. (especially, figuratively) To be in shock.
9. To produce a mechanical insect-like song, as in grass warblers.
10. (obsolete) To roll.
11. (figuratively) To bring in or along.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹiːl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: reel

Inherited from Old English: rēol

Cognate with Icelandic: ræl

In summary

From Middle English reel, reele, from Old English rēol, hrēol, from Proto-West Germanic *hrehul, from Proto-Germanic *hrehulaz, *hrahilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *krek- (“to weave, beat”). Cognate with Icelandic ræl, hræll.

Synonyms

spool

stagger

totter

bobbin

spin

wind

whirl

sway

lurch

coil

wind up

roll

roll up

teeter

careen

wobble

spindle

stumble

walk unsteadily

waver

keel

spinning wheel

swag

falter

unsteady

gyrate

rotate

revolve

shake

🫨

flounder

lose one’s balance

Virginia reel

spin around

Scottish reel

weave

volume

turn

vacillate

cylinder

rock

🪨

be unsteady

crab

🦀

fall back

fall

bump

faint

expansion

quadrille

enwrap

purchase

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