pinwheel
/ˈpɪnˌwiːl/noun, verb
pinwheel is spelled P-I-N-W-H-E-E-L: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pinwheel means “A cogged (toothed) gear” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pinwheel is pinwheels.
How many letters and syllables are in pinwheel?
| Letters | 8: P-I-N-W-H-E-E-L |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 67,454th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pinwheel?
Pinwheel appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 67,454th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pinwheel?
- /ˈpɪnˌwiːl/
- /ˈpɪnˌhwiːl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pinwheel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pinwheel
- pinwheels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pinwheeling participle, present
- pinwheeled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pinwheel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A cogged (toothed) gear.
- 2
A toy for children, comprising an artificial (usually plastic) stem and a flower that spins round in the wind like a tiny windmill.
- 3
CanadaUSA firework that spins in the shape of a spinning wheel.
- 4
A pastry made by laying out dough flat, smearing a topping over it and rolling it up into a spiral, then baking it, resulting in a swirl of filling.
- 5
Any food product consisting of layers (for example of pastry and sweet filling, or of bread and meat) rolled into a spiral.
verb
- 1
To spin.
The damaged fighter jet pinwheeled out of control, the g-forces pushing the pilot so hard he couldn't reach the ejection switch.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pinwheel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fake flower for children:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | moulinet, moulin à vent |
| German | Windrad |
| Portuguese | cata-vento |
| Spanish | ventolera, molinillo, molinete, rehilete |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pinwheel come from?
From pin + wheel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).