wheelslip

W4H4E1E1L1S1L1I1P3

noun

A problem in starting or running a locomotive or train, where excess power supplied to the driven wheels causes them to turn against the rail, especially when the rails are slippery, without moving the train forward.

“Near-synonym: wheelspin”

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Scrabble 17

Meanings

nounwheelslip (uncountable)
  1. uncountablerail transportA problem in starting or running a locomotive or train, where excess power supplied to the driven wheels causes them to turn against the rail, especially when the rails are slippery, without moving the train forward.

    Near-synonym: wheelspin

    3 more examples

    The traction motors are connected in three parallel groups of two in series, and the mid-points of each pair of motors are connected together; the mid-point connection is used in conjunction with relays to form a device which is sensitive to wheelslip, thus leading to an improvement in adhesion.

    1960 April, “English Electric diesels for the Sudan Railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 218

    Minor changes to control gear include the provision of automatic wheelslip protection, since these units will be operated on lines with ruling gradients of 1 in 60 or 1 in 80. Wheelslip automatically causes the main generator field excitation to be reduced; the load regulator is forced back to minimum excitation and, if operating in one of the two stages of traction motor field divert, causes reversion to full field.

    1962 December, “The Oxted Line diesel-electric multiple-units”, in Modern Railways, page 385

    Daily diagramming involves the single-heading of 1400-tonne trains over the northern banks, where wheelslip can be experienced when the rails are wet.

    2023 July 26, David Clough, “Technology progression defines Class 93”, in RAIL, number 988, page 54

    Synonyms: wheelspin

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA problem in starting or running a locomotive or train, where excess power supplied to the driven wheels causes them to turn against the rail, especially when the rails are slippery, without moving the train forward.

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Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷekʷléh₂
  3. Proto-Germanic*hweulō
  4. Old Englishhwēol
  5. Middle Englishwhel
  6. Englishwheel
  7. Proto-West Germanic*slippjan
  8. Old Saxon*slippian
  9. Middle Low Germanslippender.?
  10. Middle Englishslippen
  11. Englishslip
  12. Englishwheelslip

From wheel + slip.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“wheelslip.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wheelslip. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wheelslip,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wheelslip.

Source: wheelslip on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.