Standard Lemma guide

wheelbase

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: W IY1 L B EY2 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: HH W IY1 L B EY2 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The horizontal distance between the front and rear axles of a road or rail vehicle.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the distance from the center of a car's front wheel to the rear axle

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: distance

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kwel- Proto-Indo-European *kwekwléh2 Proto-Germanic *hweulō Old English hwēol Middle English whel English wheel Proto-Indo-European *gwem- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *gwémtis Proto-Hellenic *gwə́tis Ancient Greek βᾰ́σῐς (bắsĭs)bor. Latin basis Old French basebor. Middle English base English base English wheelbase From wheel + base.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: rozvor — distance btw. axles
  • Finnish: akseliväli — distance btw. axles
  • French: empattement — distance btw. axles
  • German: Achsabstand — distance btw. axles
  • German: Achsstand — distance btw. axles
  • German: Radstand — distance btw. axles
  • Greek: μεταξόνιο (metaxónio) — distance btw. axles
  • Russian: колёсная ба́за (koljósnaja báza) — distance btw. axles
  • Spanish: distancia entre ejes — distance btw. axles
  • Spanish: batalla — distance btw. axles
Real reading context

wheelbase in complete knowledge articles