cart·wheel
ˈkärt-ˌ(h)wēl 
1
: a large coin (such as a silver dollar)
2
: a lateral handspring with arms and legs extended
cartwheeled; cartwheeling; cartwheels
: to move like a turning wheel
specifically
: to perform cartwheels
cartwheeler
noun
Examples of cartwheel in a Sentence
Noun
The children turned cartwheels and somersaults on the grass.
Verb
She cartwheeled across the floor.
The car hit the pole and then cartwheeled across the road.
Recent Examples on the Web
Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023
But just because Democrats run the state government — along with most major cities — and hold a whopping advantage in voter registration doesn’t mean that their voters are doing cartwheels about the party.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023
And yes, this one takes a while, but when your creation starts to look like a real basketball, your inner child will do a perfectly sloppy joy cartwheel on the front lawn of your brain.
—Sam Reece, SELF, 12 Oct. 2023
Khloé also shared more images of herself with her niece, plus a throwback video of Penelope and her daughter True practicing cartwheels with grandma Kris in a living room.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 9 July 2023
Predictably, Pixar executives are doing cartwheels.
—Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2023
After a second round of 6,000 bottles also sold out in seconds, Harden performed a cartwheel in excitement.
—Cheng Cheng, NBC News, 17 Aug. 2023
Harden then performed a cartwheel to celebrate the sales.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2023
Guthrie poses outside with Vale in the third photo while the last slide offers a glimpse at Vale's cartwheel talents as cheered on by Charley.
—Candace Ganger Powell, Peoplemag, 14 Aug. 2023
Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2023
For me, the show’s stagecraft and general high spirits come closest to providing that value, but they are too often undone by 1955-ish ideas of Broadway style (cartwheeling cheerleaders, backflipping jocks) and 1985-ish plot points held over from the movie.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2023
The wet dirt has so much grip that trucks attempting to turn sometimes cartwheel.
—Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
Just as the man was about to seize them, Zdarsky let go, the papers cartwheeling across the grass in the stiff breeze.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023
As the crowd erupted in cheers, Lautner cartwheeled and back-flipped (a nod to their scene in 2010’s Valentine’s Day) and wrapped Swift in a big hug.
—Leah Campano, Seventeen, 10 July 2023
The singer then surprised the crowd by bringing King, Lautner and Cash out after premiering the video — Lautner even surprised the crowd by cartwheeling and backflipping onstage.
—Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 9 July 2023
The best room The Presidential Suite takes up the majority of the 60th floor and has a living room large enough to cartwheel through.
—Lee Cobaj, Robb Report, 29 May 2023
Those large families feature prominently in the show, from Fennell's cartwheeling brother-in-law to Pasqualone's tradition-loving mother.
—Brittanie Shey, Chron, 12 Apr. 2023
See More
Noun
One day before the show’s Music Video Night, the 17-year-old actress shared rehearsal footage on TikTok of landing on her ankle after doing a cartwheel.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023
But just because Democrats run the state government — along with most major cities — and hold a whopping advantage in voter registration doesn’t mean that their voters are doing cartwheels about the party.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023
And yes, this one takes a while, but when your creation starts to look like a real basketball, your inner child will do a perfectly sloppy joy cartwheel on the front lawn of your brain.
—Sam Reece, SELF, 12 Oct. 2023
Khloé also shared more images of herself with her niece, plus a throwback video of Penelope and her daughter True practicing cartwheels with grandma Kris in a living room.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 9 July 2023
Predictably, Pixar executives are doing cartwheels.
—Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2023
After a second round of 6,000 bottles also sold out in seconds, Harden performed a cartwheel in excitement.
—Cheng Cheng, NBC News, 17 Aug. 2023
Harden then performed a cartwheel to celebrate the sales.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 17 Aug. 2023
Guthrie poses outside with Vale in the third photo while the last slide offers a glimpse at Vale's cartwheel talents as cheered on by Charley.
—Candace Ganger Powell, Peoplemag, 14 Aug. 2023
Verb
The reality star hid the injury well on social media, even showing off her cartwheeling abilities on Instagram last month.
—Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2023
For me, the show’s stagecraft and general high spirits come closest to providing that value, but they are too often undone by 1955-ish ideas of Broadway style (cartwheeling cheerleaders, backflipping jocks) and 1985-ish plot points held over from the movie.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2023
The wet dirt has so much grip that trucks attempting to turn sometimes cartwheel.
—Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2023
Just as the man was about to seize them, Zdarsky let go, the papers cartwheeling across the grass in the stiff breeze.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023
As the crowd erupted in cheers, Lautner cartwheeled and back-flipped (a nod to their scene in 2010’s Valentine’s Day) and wrapped Swift in a big hug.
—Leah Campano, Seventeen, 10 July 2023
The singer then surprised the crowd by bringing King, Lautner and Cash out after premiering the video — Lautner even surprised the crowd by cartwheeling and backflipping onstage.
—Nicholas Rice, Peoplemag, 9 July 2023
The best room The Presidential Suite takes up the majority of the 60th floor and has a living room large enough to cartwheel through.
—Lee Cobaj, Robb Report, 29 May 2023
Those large families feature prominently in the show, from Fennell's cartwheeling brother-in-law to Pasqualone's tradition-loving mother.
—Brittanie Shey, Chron, 12 Apr. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cartwheel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing cartwheel
Dictionary Entries Near cartwheel
Cite this Entry
“Cartwheel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cartwheel. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
cartwheel
noun
cart·wheel
ˈkärt-ˌhwēl,
-ˌwēl
1
: a large coin (as a silver dollar)
2
: a sideways handspring with arms and legs extended
More from Merriam-Webster on cartwheel
Nglish: Translation of cartwheel for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of cartwheel for Arabic Speakers
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