# reel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɹiːl/ · frequency rank #11,590

## Definitions
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. 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.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **RL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rl)
- **rep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rep)
- **rev** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rev)
- **ref** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-ref)
- **rex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rex)
- **res** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-res)
- **Rey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rey)
- **reg** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-reg)
- **rue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rue)
- **rye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rye)
- **ren** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-ren)
- **roe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-roe)
- **REM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rem)
- **ret** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-ret)
- **rei** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rei)
- **rel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rel)
- **reo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-reo)
- **RSL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rsl)
- **rez** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rez)
- **rest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/reel-vs-rest)

## Common misspellings (4)
`erel`, `reell`, `rele`, `rreel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/reel