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 .

Verb

(en verb)

(lb) Non-linear physical movement.

# (lb) Of a body, person, etc, to move around an axis through itself.

#*

#*:"A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there.."

# (lb) To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation.

#*

It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by.

#* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Lee S. Langston, magazine=(American Scientist)

, title= The Adaptable Gas Turbine , passage=Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo'', meaning ''vortex , and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.}}

# (lb) To change one's direction of travel.

#*

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town.}}

#* , chapter=1

, title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned , and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.}}

# To change the course of.

# (lb) To shape (something) symmetrically by rotating it against a stationary cutting tool, as on a lathe.

# (lb) To give form to; to shape or mould; to adapt.

#* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

The poet's pen turns them to shapes.

#* (Joseph Addison) (1672-1719)

He was perfectly well turned for trade.

#* (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)

His limbs how turned , how broad his shoulders spread!

# (lb) To position (something) by folding it, or using its folds.

# Of a bowler, to make (the ball) move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.

# Of a ball, to move sideways off the pitch when it bounces.

#: 

To change condition or attitude.

# To become (begin to be).

#* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 21, author=Jonathan Jurejko, work=BBC Sport

, title= Newcastle 3-0 Stoke , passage=The midfielder turned provider moments later, his exquisite reverse pass perfectly weighted for Cisse to race on to and slide past Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic.}}

# To change the color of the leaves in the autumn.

# To change fundamentally; to metamorphose.

#*

At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.

#* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)

, title= Geothermal Energy , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.}}

## (lb) To sour or spoil; to go bad.

#

## (lb) To make acid or sour; to ferment; to curdle.

#

# To hinge; to depend.

#* (Jonathan Swift) (1667–1745)

Conditions of peace certainly turn upon events of war.

# To rebel; to go against something formerly tolerated.

# To change personal condition.

## (lb) To change personalities, such as from being a face (good guy) to heel (bad guy) or vice versa .

## To become giddy; said of the head or brain.

##* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

#

I'll look no more; / Lest my brain turn .

## To sicken; to nauseate.

#

## To be nauseated; said of the stomach.

##: 

To change one's course of action; to take a new approach.

* 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , (w) VII:

And they made a calfe in those dayes, and offered sacrifice unto the ymage, and reioysed in the workes of theyr awne hondes. Then God turned himsilfe, and gave them up

* Bible, (w) xxxii. 12

Turn from thy fierce wrath.

* (John Locke) (1632-1705)

The understanding turns inward on itself, and reflects on its own operations.

*

Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence.

To complete.

Of a player, to go past an opposition player with the ball in one's .

* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 5, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport

, title= Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool , passage=Liverpool introduced Carroll for Spearing and were rewarded after 64 minutes when he put them back in contention. Stewart Downing blocked Jose Bosingwa's attempted clearance, which fell into the path of Carroll. He turned John Terry superbly before firing high past Cech.}}

To undergo the process of turning on a lathe.

(lb) To bring down the feet of a child in the womb, in order to facilitate delivery.

To invert a type of the same thickness, as a temporary substitute for any sort which is exhausted.

(lb) To translate.

* (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)

who turns a Persian tale for half a crown