Reel - Oxford Learner's Dictionaries

Oxford logo Toggle navigation Redeem Upgrade Help Sign in

• Dictionaries
  • Dictionaries home
  • English
  • American English
  • Academic
  • Collocations
  • German-English
• Grammar
  • Grammar home
  • Practical English Usage
  • Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
• Word Lists
  • Word Lists home
  • My Word Lists
  • Topics
  • Recent additions
• Resources
  • Resources home
  • Text Checker

Sign in Dictionaries

• Dictionaries home
• English
• American English
• Academic
• Collocations
• German-English

Grammar

• Grammar home
• Practical English Usage
• Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)

Word Lists

• Word Lists home
• My Word Lists
• Topics
• Recent additions

Resources

• Resources home
• Text Checker

Redeem Upgrade Help TOP English English American English Academic English Collocations Practical English Usage German-English English-German English American English Enter search text

Definition of reel verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

reel verb  /riːl/  /riːl/Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they reel	/riːl/  /riːl/
he / she / it reels	/riːlz/  /riːlz/
past simple reeled	/riːld/  /riːld/
past participle reeled	/riːld/  /riːld/
-ing form reeling	/ˈriːlɪŋ/  /ˈriːlɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs jump to other results

1. [intransitive] (+ adv./prep.) to move in a very unsteady way, for example because you are drunk or have been hit synonym stagger
   • I punched him on the chin, sending him reeling backwards.
   • She was reeling after several glasses of wine.
   • He reeled under the blow.
   Extra Examples
   • He reeled back against the wall.
   • She reeled away from us.
   • The blow sent him reeling backwards.
   • He was reeling now, clutching the table to stop himself from falling.
   • The pair went reeling along the street.

   Want to learn more?

   Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.

   
2. [intransitive] reel (at/from/with something) to feel very shocked or upset about something
   • I was still reeling from the shock.
   Extra Examples
   • The country was still reeling from the earthquake.
   • I was reeling with shock.
   • My brain was still reeling under the impact of this news.
   • Her mind reeled at the possibilities.
3. [intransitive] to seem to be turning round and round
   • When he opened his eyes, the room was reeling.
   • The mixture of sights and smells made her senses reel.
Word OriginOld English hrēol, denoting a rotating device on which spun thread is wound; of unknown origin.

Phrasal Verbs

• reel in
• reel off
• reel out

See reel in the Oxford Advanced American DictionaryCheck pronunciation: reel

Other results

All matches

• reel noun
• reel
• reel in
• reel off
• reel out
• reel-to-reel adjective
• inertia reel noun
• eightsome reel
• reel something in
• reel something out
• reel something off

See more Phrasal verbs

• reel something in
• reel something out
• reel something off

Nearby words

• reek noun
• reel noun
• reel verb
• re-elect verb
• re-election noun

giraffe noun From the Topic Animals B2 Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day