water frame

noun

A water-powered spinning machine, especially of the kind invented by British industrialist Richard Arkwright.

First used 18th c.
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Meanings

nounwater frame (plural water frames)

plural water frames

  1. historicalA water-powered spinning machine, especially of the kind invented by British industrialist Richard Arkwright.First known use 18th c.

    The water-frame itself, built in units of 1,000 spindles, created the first pure English cotton cloth.

    2016, Peter Ackroyd, Revolution, Pan Macmillan, published 2017, page 214
Cite this entry
APA

water frame. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20frame

MLA

“water frame.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20frame. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “water frame,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20frame.

Source: water frame on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.