pulley
noun
pul·ley
| \ ˈpu̇-lē
\
\
plural pulleys
Definition of pulley
1
: a sheave or small wheel with a grooved rim and with or without the block in which it runs used singly with a rope or chain to change the direction and point of application of a pulling force and in various combinations to increase the applied force especially for lifting weights
2
: a pulley or pulleys with ropes to form a tackle that constitutes one of the simple machines
3
: a wheel used to transmit power by means of a band, belt, cord, rope, or chain passing over its rim
Illustration of pulley
pulley 2
Examples of pulley in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Rescuers used ropes and pulleys to safely extract McLeroy from the riverside. — Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post, "Missing Western Slope man, 82, found along San Miguel River by grandson in kayak," 5 Sep. 2019 People should be on the look-out for someone trying to scrap or sell equipment such as carabiners, pulleys and ascent control devices, Mokosso said. — Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, "As St. Paul firefighters train in bluff rescue, someone steals their equipment," 19 Aug. 2019 Directly across from the restaurant, several workers stood in the street recently attaching a pulley to a crane to carry supplies up to a 25-story tower. — Sarah Ravani, SFChronicle.com, "Downtown Oakland businesses strain under weight of apartment building boom," 19 Aug. 2019 By age 11, Young was using ropes, pulleys and his horse to extract large rocks from the earth and from Lake Michigan, which several of his homes overlook. — Jay Jones, chicagotribune.com, "Michigan town famous for ‘gnome houses’ — which occasionally go up for sale — will honor the architect with the renovated Hotel Earl," 13 Aug. 2019 The switch from a rudimentary exercise device on Apollo — essentially a cloth and a rope — to a pulley system with resistance weight on Orion is designed to keep astronauts healthy on long flights. — Chabeli Herrera, orlandosentinel.com, "On Apollo, using the bathroom was ‘messy.’ America’s next moonshot will be radically different," 21 July 2019 Aldrin climbs into the LM and hauls up both rock boxes with a small pulley. — James R. Berry, Popular Mechanics, "Man's First Day on the Moon," 19 July 2019 Workers tread a wooden hamster-wheel attached to pulleys to lift the massive stones high enough to be fitted into walls with mortar made of slaked lime and sand. — Kim Willsher, latimes.com, "A medieval castle in France could be Notre Dame's salvation," 6 June 2019 What ended up in the show doesn't differ so much from what happened on set in that sense: during the show's ATX TV Festival panel, for instance, Fabrega mentioned being strapped to platforms and spun in circles by VFX guys with pulleys. — Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, "HBO’s Los Espookys will make you want to be a horror technician, too," 14 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pulley.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for pulley
pulley
noun
English Language Learners Definition of pulley
: a wheel or set of wheels that is used with a rope, chain, etc., to lift or lower heavy objects
See the full definition for pulley in the English Language Learners Dictionary
pulley
noun
pul·ley
| \ ˈpu̇-lē
\
\
plural pulleys
Kids Definition of pulley
: a wheel over which a belt, rope, or chain is pulled to lift or lower a heavy object
pulley
noun
pul·ley
| \ ˈpu̇l-ē
\
\
Medical Definition of pulley
: trochlea
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