sheave
/ʃiːv/noun, verb
sheave is spelled S-H-E-A-V-E: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sheave means “A wheel having a groove in the rim for a rope to work in, and set in a block, mast, or similar; the wheel of a pulley” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sheave is sheaves.
How many letters and syllables are in sheave?
| Letters | 6: S-H-E-A-V-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 25 million words; the 150,355th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sheave?
Sheave appears about once in every 25 million words in written English, the 150,355th 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 sheave?
- /ʃiːv/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sheave.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sheave?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as sheave.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: heaves.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sheave
- sheaves plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sheaving participle, present
- sheaved participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sheave mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A wheel having a groove in the rim for a rope to work in, and set in a block, mast, or similar; the wheel of a pulley.
- 2
A sliding scutcheon for covering a keyhole.
verb
- 1
To gather and bind into a sheaf.
From him did forty million serfs (...) receive Rich freeborn lifelong land, whereon to sheave Their country's harvest.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sheave in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | réa |
| German | Scheibe, Laufrolle, Seilscheibe, Umlenkrolle, Rolle , bündeln |
| Portuguese | roldana |
| Spanish | roldana |
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 sheave come from?
From Middle English, from a Germanic base akin to German Scheibe, late Old Norse skífa (“slice”), all ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to split”). For more see shive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).