wheelwright

Everyday

A person whose job is to make and repair wooden wheels, for carts, wagons and carriages. tree →

In the lessons

A history and job word. Before cars, every village needed a wheelwright, together with the blacksmith who fitted iron tyres on the wheels. In The Wind in the Willows Toad's caravan and the carts of the countryside were made by craftsmen like wheelwrights. Surnames like Wright and Wainwright come from old jobs like this.

Examples

• The wheelwright fixed the broken cart wheel. tree →
• The village once had a wheelwright and a blacksmith. tree →
• A wheelwright shaped the wooden spokes. tree →
• We watched a wheelwright at the heritage museum. tree →
• His great-great-grandfather was a wheelwright. tree →
• The wheelwright and the smith fitted the iron rim. tree →

Note

Countable noun. «-wright» means a maker (playwright, shipwright); it is not «write» or «right». Say WEEL-rite.