freewheel
verbEtymology From free + wheel.
1
Engineering, Mechanical engineering, Mechanics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Of a gear, to continue spinning after disengagement.
2
Cycling, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Of a cyclist, to ride a bicycle without pedalling, e.g. downhill.
- On her elderly bicycle with the basketwork carrier on the handle-bars, Dorothy free-wheeled down the hill, doing mental arithmetic with three pounds nineteen and fourpence--her entire stock of money until next quarter-day.1935, George Orwell, chapter 3, in A Clergyman’s Daughter:
3
Automotive, Transport, Vehicles Of a motorist, to operate a motor vehicle which is coasting without power, e.g. downhill.
- Silently and gracefully I free-wheeled across the path of three juggernauts, [...] glided across the hard shoulder and came to rest halfway up a grass bank.1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 78:
4
Broadly, Figuratively To operate free from constraints.
- Derived terms
- freewheeler