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
EW.com, 17 Oct. 2023
Binoche, 59, wore a wide-brim cartwheel hat and matched Williams with a pair of long black leather gloves.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024
Kyle Orland 2018: This loop treadmill was closed after the first day of the show after someone fell over and cut their lip when trying to do a cartwheel on it.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 12 Dec. 2023
Evening: Bedtime Routine At dusk, Jose Giusti watched his 6-year-old, Gianna, practice cartwheels under a cacophony of bullets.
—Emily Baumgaertner, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
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
Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024
Learning how to ride a bike without training wheels, rollerblading, and cartwheeling are perfect opportunities for kids to practice being brave.
—Jenna Autuori-Dedic, Parents, 1 Feb. 2024
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
Noun
Carrie Ann Inaba called it his best dance yet but that it was riddled with mistakes and a missed cartwheel.
—EW.com, 17 Oct. 2023
Binoche, 59, wore a wide-brim cartwheel hat and matched Williams with a pair of long black leather gloves.
—Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024
Kyle Orland 2018: This loop treadmill was closed after the first day of the show after someone fell over and cut their lip when trying to do a cartwheel on it.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 12 Dec. 2023
Evening: Bedtime Routine At dusk, Jose Giusti watched his 6-year-old, Gianna, practice cartwheels under a cacophony of bullets.
—Emily Baumgaertner, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
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
Verb
Instead of turning a corner almost everyone thought was imminent ... in the spring ... in the heart of summer ... in the critical runway to the fall ... the uber-gifted Padres, the big-bank Padres cartwheeled off a cliff.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024
Learning how to ride a bike without training wheels, rollerblading, and cartwheeling are perfect opportunities for kids to practice being brave.
—Jenna Autuori-Dedic, Parents, 1 Feb. 2024
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
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.
Dictionary Entries Near cartwheel
Cite this Entry
“Cartwheel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cartwheel. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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