wheelhouse

noun

wheel·​house ˈ(h)wēl-ˌhau̇s How to pronounce wheelhouse (audio)
plural wheelhouses
1
: pilothouse
Looking out at the all-but-empty bay from the wheelhouse of the new 28-foot research boat …Bill Nemitz
He climbed a rickety rope ladder to the ship's deck, then another five flights of stairs to the wheelhouse.Daniel Machalaba
2
: a place or center of control or leadership (as in an organization)
But while there was momentary calm in the wheelhouse, there was still a real question whether anyone was really in command of the administration's foreign-policy machinery.David Gelman et al.
3
US
a
baseball : the section of the strike zone where it is easiest for the batter to hit the ball well
The home run came on a 3–2 pitch. [Danny] Graves tried to get Jenkins with a sinker. "It was right in his wheelhouse," Graves said.John Fay
b
: an area that matches a person's skills or expertise
… he was right in his wheelhouse—politics is where [Stephen] Colbert soars.Adam Chitwood

Examples of wheelhouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Shortly before midnight, Kerry goes to the wheelhouse and sees it’s been over two hours since there’s been an entry in the logbook. Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2025 That’s pretty weird and quite obviously way outside The Rock’s wheelhouse. Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025 The Rock playing an MMA fighter in a biopic seems within the realm of possibility, but whatever this is definitely appears to be taking him out of his wheelhouse. Brian Welk, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2025 The blaze starts small but soon catches hold, and these scenes are right up there in Greengrass’s wheelhouse. Damon Wise, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for wheelhouse

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wheelhouse was in 1824

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wheelhouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wheelhouse. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

wheelhouse

noun
wheel·​house -ˌhau̇s How to pronounce wheelhouse (audio)
1
2
: the place of control or leadership (as in an organization)
3
: an area that matches a person's skills or expertise
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!