Verb

(en verb)

To wind on a reel.

To spin or revolve repeatedly.

To unwind, to bring or acquire something by spinning or winding something else.

He reeled off some tape from the roll and sealed the package.

To walk shakily or unsteadily; to stagger; move as if drunk or not in control of oneself.

* {{quote-book, year=1907, author=

, title=The Dust of Conflict , chapter=30 citation , passage=It was by his order the shattered leading company flung itself into the houses when the Sin Verguenza were met by an enfilading volley as they reeled into the calle.}}

* Bible, Psalms cvii. 27

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man.

* Alexander Pope

He, with heavy fumes oppressed, / Reeled from the palace, and retired to rest.

* Macaulay

the wagons reeling under the yellow sheaves

(reel back) To back off or step away unsteadily and quickly.

He reeled back from the punch.

To make or cause to reel.

To have a whirling sensation; to be giddy.

* Nathaniel Hawthorne

In these lengthened vigils his brain often reeled .

To be in shock.

* 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/nyregion/new-jersey-continues-to-cope-with-hurricane-sandy.html?hp]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):

New Jersey was reeling on Wednesday from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, which has caused catastrophic flooding here in Hoboken and in other New York City suburbs, destroyed entire neighborhoods across the state and wiped out iconic boardwalks in shore towns that had enchanted generations of vacationgoers.

(obsolete) To roll.

* Spenser

And Sisyphus an huge round stone did reel .