wheelchair

American

[weel-chair, hweel-] / ˈwilˌtʃɛər, ˈʰwil- /

noun

a chair mounted on wheels for use by persons who cannot walk.

wheelchair British

/ ˈwiːlˌtʃɛə /

noun

med a special chair mounted on large wheels, for use by invalids or others for whom walking is impossible or temporarily inadvisable

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of wheelchair

First recorded in 1690–1700; wheel + chair

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

AFP reporters saw the men -- including one in a wheelchair -- exiting the airport of Durban, in the coastal KwaZulu-Natal province, with their luggage and escorted by police to a holding area.

From Barron's

When she was taken from East Surrey Hospital to Temple Grove Nursing Home, Ritchie's mother said her powered wheelchair was "switched off and pushed".

From BBC

She said she’s “very much immobile,” confined to a wheelchair for the time being and then on crutches for at least two months.

From Los Angeles Times

Now I will focus on rehab and progressing from a wheelchair to crutches in a few weeks.

From Barron's

She added that she will be in a wheelchair "for a while" because in addition to the broken leg, she has also broken her ankle.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023