Definition of "idle wheel" []

• A gear, wheel, or roller interposed between two similar parts to convey motion from one to the other without change in speed or direction of motion. (noun)
• See idle pulley. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Sixpence came forward from the idle wheel and watched me veer the chain; then for a quarter of an hour we leaned on the main-boom and watched the crowds upon the shore through field-glasses."