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Glite Dictionary
to wheel out

to wheel out

1 5.1
To show something again, often because it is already ready
  • phrasal verb
  • /wiːl aʊt/
  • Informal
translation icon : presentar
  • Every year, the school wheels out a new curriculum that has been developed over the summer.

Examples

  • During the presentation, the team will wheel out their new product line to demonstrate its features.

  • "They frequently wheel out exciting-looking aircraft but are yet to really demonstrate anything earthshattering."

    Blog text (27)

  • Let's wheel out the remote satellite link.

    Armageddon (1998)

  • They usually wheel out the example of one local company that did well as 'proof' that they are on the way.

    Blog text (31)

  • There are those sighs and gasps and someone flashing a camera when I wheel out the cake.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Hoping to tap into a worldwide market worth billions of dollars a year, public and private companies wheeled out over a dozen drones that ranged in size from hand-held models meant to be carried in a backpack to larger aircraft like the Shahpur.

    Blog text (27)

  • The director plans to wheel out the film's star for a special promotion next week.

Synonyms

to lay out
vsto wheel out
100 3.1

To arrange items so they are ready and easy to see

is about presenting or introducing things to people, not only arranging them
to bring out
vsto wheel out
12 2.7

Make a product, book or film available to the public

is used for routine prepared showing rather than formal public release
to trot out
vsto wheel out
  • Informal
8 5.9

To show something again to impress or persuade people

focuses on routine prepared presentation rather than trying to persuade

Antonyms

to conceal
282 3.7

To hide something so others cannot see or find it

to withdraw
159 3.5

To take money or things out of a place where they are kept

How Prepared

to showcase
104 3.7
to wheel out
  • Informal
1 5.1
to introduce
520 2.1
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

wheel out infinitive
wheeled out past
wheeled out past participle
wheeling out present participle
wheels out third person singular

Morphology

wheel + out

The literal meaning 'to move something out on wheels' is directly derivable from 'wheel' (to move on wheels) + 'out' (outwards), so a B1 learner can infer the basic sense of bringing or moving something into view. However, the conventionalized, figurative extension meaning 'to present or introduce (often routinely or ceremonially)' is a pragmatic/metaphorical shift that is not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The phrasal verb wheel out may come from the picture of people rolling a heavy cart on its wheel out of a back room to show customers. So, it now means 'to present' or 'introduce' something that is prepared or used again and again.