wheelhorse

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wheelhorse

/ˈʍiːlhɔː(ɹ)s/ UK
/ˈʍiːlhɔɹs/ US
/ˈwiːl-/ US

Where it comes from

From wheel + horse. Sense 2 (“person who labors heavily for a cause”) is from the fact that a horse nearest to the wheels of a carriage that it is drawing does much of the pulling work.

noun wheelhorses · wheel horse · wheel-horse

US, dated One of a team of horses which is nearest to the wheels of a carriage, as opposed to a leader or forward horse. The off wheel-horſe a grey, named Single Peeper, ſold for 50 [guineas] […] The near wheel-horſe cheſnut, named Chance.
Similar: wheeler
US, figuratively A person who labors heavily for a particular cause, without being concerned about recognition. [F]rom his [Benjamin Ruggles'] well-known habits of industry and constant devotion to the interests of his constituents, he was called "The Wheelhorse of the Senate."
historical, obsolete A foot-propelled vehicle; a bicycle. In 1830 a bold and vigorous attempt was made to utilize the wheel-horse. A French post-office official, M. Dreuze by name, brought forward an improvement on the old two-wheel velocipede, which bid fair to be successful. […] A number of the country letter-carriers were mounted on the wheel-horse, and

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Cite this

MLA

"wheelhorse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wheelhorse. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

wheelhorse. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wheelhorse

Chicago

"wheelhorse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wheelhorse.

BibTeX

@misc{wheelhorse_2026,
  title = {wheelhorse},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wheelhorse},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}