spoke

Formsspokes, spoking, spoked

Pluralspokes

1. 1
   verb

   Past tense of speak. Use it for the past.

   She spoke softly to the frightened child.

   They spoke for hours about old times.

   Note
2. 2
   nouncountable

   One of the thin bars that join the center of a wheel to its outer ring.

   Like one of the thin bars in an open umbrella that reach from the middle out to the edge.

   A broken spoke made the bike wheel wobble badly.

   Each spoke on the wheel was painted bright red.

   Note
3. 3
   nouncountable

   A bar or step on a ladder that you put your foot on to climb.

   Like a step on a staircase, but it is part of a ladder.

   He stepped on the bottom spoke and climbed up to the loft.

   One spoke of the old ladder had cracked through the middle.

   Similarrung, step

4. 4
   nouncountable

   An outer stop in a travel system where the routes all spread out from one central place.

   Like a small station at the edge of a network where every road leads back to one main station.

   Each small airport acts as a spoke feeding into the main hub.

   The delivery company added a new spoke to reach the rural towns.

   Oppositehub

5. 5
   nouncountable

   One of the handles that stick out from a ship's steering wheel.

   Like the grip handles on a ship's wheel that a sailor pulls to steer.

   The sailor grabbed a spoke and turned the ship's wheel hard.

   Each spoke of the wheel had a worn, smooth grip.

   Note
6. 6
   nouncountable

   A stick pushed into a wheel to stop it from turning.

   Like jamming a stick between the bars of a wheel so it cannot turn.

   The driver jammed a spoke into the wheel to stop the cart.

   Without a spoke in the wheel, the heavy wagon rolled downhill.

7. 7
   verbtransitive

   To fit a wheel with the bars that join its center to its rim.

   Skilled hands can spoke a wheel in a single afternoon.

   They spoke the cart wheels before fitting the iron tires.

   Note

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