pulley

pul·ley | \ ˈpu̇-lē

plural pulleys

Definition of pulley

1 : a sheave or small wheel with a grooved rim and with or without the block in which it runs used singly with a rope or chain to change the direction and point of application of a pulling force and in various combinations to increase the applied force especially for lifting weights

2 : a pulley or pulleys with ropes to form a tackle that constitutes one of the simple machines

3 : a wheel used to transmit power by means of a band, belt, cord, rope, or chain passing over its rim

Examples of pulley in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web From the roof of a powerhouse, rescuers shot a rope line to the boat from a cannon and constructed a pulley system. — Christina Goldbaum, New York Times, "Boat Stuck at Niagara Falls Moves for First Time Since 1918," 5 Nov. 2019 Rescuers set up a ladder and pulley system to lower a crewman into the hole to grab the woman and pull her out. — Tiffini Theisen, orlandosentinel.com, "Florida woman trapped for 12 hours in 15-foot-deep hole," 7 Oct. 2019 Insider also reported that the brand used pulley systems in order to pull off the surreal effect. — Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, "Issey Miyake's Floating Dresses Wow at Paris Fashion Week," 27 Sep. 2019 Every crankshaft has a pulley, which is held on by a bolt on the front of the engine. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Seize this opportunity to learn about your engine," 15 Sep. 2019 Every crankshaft has a pulley, which is held on by a bolt on the front of the engine. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Seize this opportunity to learn about your engine," 15 Sep. 2019 Every crankshaft has a pulley, which is held on by a bolt on the front of the engine. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Seize this opportunity to learn about your engine," 15 Sep. 2019 The iron ballast used to counter-balance human weight aboard the ship, remnants of shackles and a wooden pulley humanize the lives onboard. — Chris Searles, National Geographic, "Most slave shipwrecks have been overlooked—until now," 23 Aug. 2019 Every crankshaft has a pulley, which is held on by a bolt on the front of the engine. — Ray Magliozzi, courant.com, "Car Talk: Seize this opportunity to learn about your engine," 28 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pulley.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.