flywheel

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun regulator consisting of a heavy wheel that stores kinetic energy and smooths the operation of a reciprocating engine

From fly + wheel.

Our flywheel was on the ground, running helplessly round and round, screaming horribly, while both chauffeurs abused each other. — The Heather-Moon, C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson
Rob gave a couple of turns to the flywheels of the two outboard motors and adjusted his feet to the special steering gear. — The Young Alaskans on the Missouri, Emerson Hough
In the white glare, pretty girls in doorways looked like actresses in a costume play, waiting in the wings to “go on.” But no yells of a stage mob ever were so realistic as those of the unrehearsed band who howled over my poor Gloria as she deposited her passengers at the fonda; and Ropes and I pushed her through a wall of human beings to a stable-garage, where her flywheel gushed a protest of fiery sparks on the high stone step of entrance. — The Car of Destiny, C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson

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