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wheelchair

wheelchair

357 1.4
A chair with wheels for people who cannot walk
  • noun
  • /ˈwiːlˌtʃɛr/
translation icon : silla de ruedas
  • Today, five years after his injury, Zack is in a wheelchair and needs round-the-clock care.
  • use a wheelchair
  • motorized wheelchair
  • manual wheelchair

There is tons of wheelchair accessible parking spots.

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Examples

  • A corridor crowded with patients in wheelchairs with nowhere to go and nothing much to do.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • He felt a sense of independence when he learned to navigate his wheelchair by himself.

  • So that put me in a wheelchair for probably three to four months.

  • When I started using the wheelchair, it was a tremendous new freedom.

  • A student is in a wheelchair and enrolled in a computerized design and drafting program.

    Academic text (2015)
  • After her surgery, she relied on a wheelchair to help her get around while she recovered.

  • The community center provides a wheelchair for visitors who have difficulty walking.

Synonyms

motorized wheelchair
vswheelchair
  • US
1 3.4

A chair with wheels that moves using a small electric motor

is propelled by the user or another person using manual effort
bath chair
vswheelchair
  • Offensive
9.9

A chair with wheels and a cover that a helper pushes to carry sick people at resorts

is commonly propelled by the user or sometimes by another person

Compounds

A chair with wheels that moves using a small electric motor

How Mobile

scooter
25 2.5
wheelchair
357 1.4

Surface Forms

wheelchair singular
wheelchairs plural

Morphology

wheelchair = wheel + chair (transparent) = wheel + chair

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'wheel' + 'chair' (a chair fitted with wheels).

Etymology

Wheelchair is made from wheel ('round part that turns') and chair ('seat'). So, it means a 'chair with wheels' that helps someone move when they cannot walk.