spool

plural spools

1. A reel; a device around which thread, wire or cable is wound, especially a cylinder or spindle.

   If you need to reload film, the cassette can be rewound slightly by turning the hub located on one end of its spool.

   2011, Rebekah Modrak, Bill Anthes, Reframing Photography: Theory and Practice

2. aeronauticsOne of the rotating assemblies of a gas turbine engine, composed of one or more turbine stages, a shaft, and one or more compressor or fan stages.

   1 more example

   The high-pressure spool rotates faster than the intermediate- and low-pressure spools, as the high-pressure turbine is driven by superheated combustion gases straight out of the burners, while the high-pressure compressor has to spin very fast to compress air that has already been compressed and heated by the low- and intermediate-pressure compressors.

3. computingA temporary storage area for electronic mail, etc.
4. WestYorkshireA splinter caught in the skin.

present singular third person spools · participle present spooling · participle past spooled · past spooled

1. To wind on a spool or spools.
2. computingTo send files to a device or a program (a spooler or a daemon that puts them in a queue for processing at a later time).

plural spools

1. A small swimming pool that can be used also as a spa.