Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A simple machine consisting essentially of a wheel with a grooved rim in which a pulled rope or chain can run to change the direction of the pull and thereby lift a load.
  • noun A wheel turned by or driving a belt.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Properly, a simple machine consisting of a wheel having a grooved rim for carrying a rope or other line, and turning in a frame, which, when movable, is termed a pulley-block.
  • noun A block containing several grooved wheels.
  • noun A tackle or apparatus consisting of one or more pulley-blocks with a rope or ropes reeved through them for use in hoisting.
  • noun In anatomy: A trochlea, or trochlear surface of an articulation.
  • noun A ligamentous loop which confines or changes the direction of the tendon of a muscle passing through it: as, the digastric muscle of the chin and the superior oblique of the eye both pass through a pulley. See cuts under muscle and eye.
  • To raise or hoist with a pulley.
  • noun A pulley which merely tightens the belt but takes off no power.
  • noun A pulley built up of segments or sectors.
  • noun A segmental pulley; a pulley made in two or more sectors for convenience in casting.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb rare To raise or lift by means of a pulley.
  • noun (Mach.) A wheel with a broad rim, or grooved rim, for transmitting power from, or imparting power to, the different parts of machinery, or for changing the direction of motion, by means of a belt, cord, rope, or chain.
  • noun a pulley with a broad face for transmitting power between revolving shafts by means of a belt, or for guiding a belt.
  • noun See Cone pulley.
  • noun one of a pair of belt pulleys, each in the shape of a truncated cone, for varying velocities.
  • noun a pulley firmly attached upon a shaft.
  • noun a pulley loose on a shaft, to interrupt the transmission of motion in machinery. See Fast and loose pulleys, under Fast.
  • noun a belt pulley made in semicircular halves, which can be bolted together, to facilitate application to, or removal from, a shaft.
  • noun Same as Block, n. 6.
  • noun (Arch.) the upright of the window frame into which a pulley is fixed and along which the sash slides.
  • noun a parting pulley.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun One of the simple machines; a wheel with a grooved rim in which a pulled rope or chain will lift an object (more useful when two or more pulleys are used together such that a small force moving through a greater distance can exert a larger force through a smaller distance).
  • verb transitive To raise or lift by means of a pulley.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a simple machine consisting of a wheel with a groove in which a rope can run to change the direction or point of application of a force applied to the rope

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English poley, from Old French polie and from Medieval Latin poliva, both ultimately from Greek polos, axis; see kwel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English polley, pullie, from Old French poulie, polie ("a pulley"), (compare Medieval Latin polea, polegia, polegium; Middle Dutch puleye), of Germanic origin, from or related to Middle Low German pulen ("to pull"), Old English pullian ("to pull") . More at pull.

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Examples

  • The double-line pull uses a snatch block (also known as a pulley block) to run the wire rope out to an anchor and then double it back to the vehicle, where the hook is attached to the frame -- not the bumper, winch, or any part of the suspension.

    Winching How-To: Never Get Your Truck Stuck Again 2009

  • Fixed to the pulley was a long rope, which was hand-held.

    Australian Story Online - Chapter 2 2009

  • And ye are prepared for the building of God the Father, and ye are raised up on high by the instrument of Jesus Christ, which is the cross; and ye are drawn by the rope, which is the Holy Spirit; and your pulley is your faith, and your love is the way which leadeth up on high to God.

    ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus 1819-1893 2001

  • -- In the _rope_ and _pulley_ note that when the pulley is a fixed one, the only advantage is a changed direction of the rope.

    Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study Ontario. Ministry of Education

  • Across the batten hung a pulley and over the pulley was a rope.

    Vintage Murder Marsh, Ngaio, 1895-1982 1937

  • But, when treating of a grave subject, what can be more silly or indecorous than such language as the following -- "Ye are raised on high by the engine of Jesus Christ, which is the cross, and ye are drawn by the rope, which is the Holy Ghost, and your pulley is your faith."

    The Ancient Church Its History, Doctrine, Worship, and Constitution 1854

  • After investigating at school, Sid discovers that a pulley is the perfect simple machine to help lift heavy things up to high places, like a tree house! email reminder

    unknown title 2009

  • After investigating at school, Sid discovers that a pulley is the perfect simple machine to help lift heavy things up to high places, like a tree house! email reminder

    unknown title 2009

  • The pulley is the only part of the assembly that had to be drawn in two dimensions as a project requirement.

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2009

  • It worked on a principle called the pulley-and-counter-weight principle.

    unknown title 2009

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