wheel flat

noun

A flat spot on a railway wheel caused when a wheel, or both wheels on the same axle, in a moving train stop rotating.

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Meanings

nounwheel flat (plural wheel flats)

plural wheel flats · alternative wheelflat

  1. rail transportA flat spot on a railway wheel caused when a wheel, or both wheels on the same axle, in a moving train stop rotating.

    Severe wheel flats caused by locking brakes led to the derailment of DB Cargo UK's 2152 Robeston-Theale oil train near Llangennech, in South Wales, on August 26.

    2020 October 7, “Network News: Severe wheel flats caused Welsh oil train derailment”, in Rail, page 14
Cite this entry
APA

wheel flat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wheel%20flat

MLA

“wheel flat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wheel%20flat. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wheel flat,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wheel%20flat.

Source: wheel flat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.