Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense reels, present participle reeling, past tense, past participle reeled
1. countable noun
A reel is a cylindrical object around which you wrap something such as cinema film, magnetic tape, fishing line, or cotton thread.
[mainly British]
...a 30m reel of cable. [+ of]
regional note: in AM, usually use spool
2. countable noun [usually with supplement]
You can talk about a reel as a way of referring to all the scenes in a film which fit onto one reel of film.
I shall not reveal the movie's final reel.
3. verb
If someone reels, they move about in an unsteady way as if they are going to fall.
He was reeling a little. He must be very drunk. [VERB]
He lost his balance and reeled back. [VERB adverb/preposition]
I stood up and almost fell, reeling against the deck rail. [VERB adverb/preposition]
Synonyms: stagger, rock, roll, pitch More Synonyms of reel
4. verb [usually cont]
If you arereeling from a shock, you are feeling extremely surprised or upset because of it.
I'm still reeling from the shock of hearing of it. [VERB + from]
It left us reeling with disbelief. [VERB preposition]
Synonyms: be shaken, be shocked, be stunned, be staggered More Synonyms of reel
5. verb
If you say that your brain or your mind is reeling, you mean that you are very confused because you have too many things to think about.
His mind reeled at the question. [VERB + at]
6. countable noun
A reel is a type of fast Scottish dance, or fast country dance.
Phrasal verbs:
See reel in
See reel off
More Synonyms of reel
reel in British English1
(riːl, rɪəl)
noun
1.
any of various cylindrical objects or frames that turn on an axis and onto which film, magnetic tape, paper tape, wire, thread, etc, may be wound
US equivalent: spool
2. angling
a device for winding, casting, etc, consisting of a revolving spool with a handle, attached to a fishing rod
3.
a roll of celluloid exhibiting a sequence of photographs to be projected
verb(transitive)
4.
to wind (cotton, thread, etc) onto a reel
5. (foll byin, out etc)
to wind or draw with a reel
to reel in a fish
Derived forms
reelable (ˈreelable)
adjective
reeler (ˈreeler)
noun
Word origin
Old English hrēol; related to Old Norse hrǣll weaver's rod, Greek krekein to weave
reel in British English2
(riːl, rɪəl)
verb(mainly intr)
1.
to sway, esp under the shock of a blow or through dizziness or drunkenness
2.
to whirl about or have the feeling of whirling about
her brain reeled
noun
3.
a staggering or swaying motion or sensation
Word origin
C14 relen, probably from reel1
reel in British English3
(riːl, rɪəl)
noun
1.
any of various lively Scottish dances, such as the eightsome reel and foursome reel, for a fixed number of couples who combine in square and circular formations
2.
a piece of music having eight quavers to the bar composed for or in the rhythm of this dance
Word origin
C18: from reel2
reel in American English1
(ril)
verb intransitive
1.
to give way or fall back; sway, waver, or stagger as from being struck
2.
to lurch or stagger about, as from drunkenness or dizziness
3.
to go around and around; whirl
4.
to feel dizzy; have a sensation of spinning or whirling
verb transitive
5.
to cause to reel
noun
6.
a reeling motion; whirl, stagger, etc.
Word origin
ME rele < OE hreol: see reel3
reel in American English2
(ril)
noun
1.
a.
a lively Scottish dance
b.
Virginia reel
2.
music for either of these
Word origin
prob. < reel1
reel in American English3
(ril)
noun
1.
a frame or spool on which thread, wire, tape, film, a net, etc. is wound
2.
such a frame set on the handle of a fishing rod, to wind up or let out the line
3.
the quantity of wire, thread, film, tape, etc. usually wound on one reel
4.
in some lawn mowers, a set of spiral steel blades rotating on a horizontal bar set between wheels
verb transitive, verb intransitive
5.
to wind on a reel
Idioms:
reel in
reel off
reel out
(right) off the reel
Word origin
ME < OE hreol < Gmc *hrehulaz < IE base *krek-, to strike, make a weaving motion > Gr krekein, to weave, Latvian krekls, shirt
Examples of 'reel' in a sentence
reel
Taking up a reel of aluminium wire is far better than an entire store cupboard.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Use the reel wire to secure small bundles of greenery, securing the stems.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The concern, of course, is that they will be so reeling from the blows that they willhave had the confidence knocked out of them too.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We are all still reeling from the shock of it all.
The Sun (2015)
How my mind reeled with these perceptions!
Baxter, Stephen Anti-Ice (1993)
He keeps dumping you and then reeling you back in.
The Sun (2014)
It was a thought to make my brain reel.
Smout, T.C. & Wood, Sydney Scottish Voices 1745-1960 (1990)
This movie keeps you guessing right up until the final reel.
The Sun (2013)
He must have had dozens of reels of film.
Max Arthur Lost Voices of the Edwardians: 19011910 in the words of the Men & Women Who WereThere (2006)
Pass the other end of the band through the cotton reel.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The family still reels from the shock.
Steel, Elizabeth Coping With Sudden Hair Loss (1988)
At first you reel back in horror.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This goes unexplained until the film circles back in the final reel.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The final reels included a number of impromptu outbursts and genuine screaming.
David Boyle AUTHENTICITY: Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust for Real Life (2003)
West pinched the reel of cotton after prison shirts were delivered to his cell in laundry bags for him to repair.
The Sun (2016)
To his left, an input tape reels in.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Then, fly fishing reels and ice makers.
The Sun (2010)
My brain seemed to reel, as if my mind would swing from its pivot.
Christianity Today (2000)
No longer are cinemas restricted to projecting reels of 35mm film.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Yesterday the 55-year-old was still reeling in shock from his change of fortune.
The Sun (2011)
She reeled about, and he reached a hand out to try to help her regain her balance.
Tracy Chevalier Burning Bright (2007)
I want to ask a question, but my mind is reeling.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
This would be the worst performance since 2009, when the country was reeling from the banking crash.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Give him a moment to cast about and reel his thoughts back in, and what's he caught?
Alexander Masters STUART: A Life Backwards (2005)
It shocked a country still reeling from the arrest of a TV crime show host for allegedly arranging killings to boost ratings.
The Sun (2009)
And as fans reeled at the blow to our Cup hopes, some experts made the gloomy prediction that his football career may be over for good.
The Sun (2006)
Word lists with
reel
Types of composition
In other languages
reel
British English: reel /riːl; rɪəl/ NOUN
A reel is a cylinder-shaped object around which you wrap something such as thread or cinema film.
...a 30-metre reel of cable.
American English: reel
Arabic: بَكَرَة
Brazilian Portuguese: carretel
Chinese: 卷轴
Croatian: svitak
Czech: cívka
Danish: rulle
Dutch: haspel
European Spanish: carrete
Finnish: kela
French: moulinet
German: Spule
Greek: καρούλι
Italian: bobina
Japanese: リール
Korean: 릴
Norwegian: spole
Polish: szpulka
European Portuguese: carreto
Romanian: rolă
Russian: катушка
Latin American Spanish: carrete
Swedish: vinda
Thai: เครื่องม้วน
Turkish: makara
Ukrainian: котушка
Vietnamese: ống
British English: reel VERB
If someone reels, they move about in an unsteady way as if they are going to fall.
He was reeling a little. He must be very dizzy.
American English: reel
Brazilian Portuguese: cambalear
Chinese: 踉跄
European Spanish: tambalearse
French: chanceler
German: taumeln
Italian: barcollare
Japanese: よろめく
Korean: 비틀거리다
European Portuguese: cambalear
Latin American Spanish: tambalearse
All related terms of 'reel'
reel in
If you reel in something such as a fish , you pull it towards you by winding around a reel the wire or line that it is attached to.
open-reel
(of magnetic tape ) wound from one reel to another in use
reel-fed
involving or printing on a web of paper
reel off
If you reel off information, you repeat it from memory quickly and easily .
reel out
to unwind from a reel
reel-to-reel
(of magnetic tape ) wound from one reel to another in use
reel holder
something designed to hold a reel of cable , wire , or other material
foursome reel
a lively Scottish dance for two couples who combine in square and circular formations
spinning reel
a fishing reel mounted on a spinning rod , having a stationary spool on the side of which is a revolving metal arm that catches the line and winds it onto the spool as a handle is turned, the metal arm being disengaged during casting so the line spirals freely off the spool, carried by the cast lure
Virginia reel
an American country dance
eightsome reel
a Scottish dance for eight people
reel of three
(in Scottish country dancing ) a figure-of-eight movement danced by three people
(right) off the reel
without hesitation or pause
inertia-reel seat belt
a type of car seat belt in which the belt is free to unwind from a metal drum except when the drum locks as a result of rapid deceleration
Chinese translation of 'reel'
reel
(riːl)
n(c)
[of thread, cable, film, tape]卷(捲)轴(軸) (juànzhóu)
(Cine) 盘(盤) (pán)
(on fishing-rod) 钩(鉤)丝(絲)螺旋轮(輪) (goūsī luóxuánlún)