fifth wheel

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fifth wheel

a. A wheel or portion of a wheel placed horizontally over the forward axle of a carriage to provide support and stability during turns.

b. A similar device over the rear axle or axles of a tractor or pickup truck, serving as a coupling for a semitrailer.

2. An additional wheel carried on a four-wheeled vehicle as a spare.

3. An extra and unnecessary person or thing.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fifth wheel

1. (Mechanical Engineering) a spare wheel for a four-wheeled vehicle

2. (Mechanical Engineering)

a. the coupling table of an articulated vehicle

b. a steering bearing that enables the front axle of a horse-drawn vehicle to rotate relative to the body

3. a superfluous or unnecessary person or thing

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fifth′ wheel′

1. a horizontal ring or segment of a ring, consisting of two bands that slide on each other, placed above the front axle of a carriage and designed to support the forepart of the body while allowing it to turn freely in a horizontal plane.

2. a superfluous or unwanted person or thing.

[1870–75]

Fifth wheel

Before the advent of trucks, the fifth wheel was a semicircular iron ring attached to a wagon’s front axle to give additional support to the rest of the Running gear as the axle pivoted during turns.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	fifth wheel - someone or something that is unwanted and unneeded deadwood redundance, redundancy - the attribute of being superfluous and unneeded; "the use of industrial robots created redundancy among workers"
	2.	fifth wheel - an extra car wheel and tire for a four-wheel vehicle spare car wheel - a wheel that has a tire and rim and hubcap; used to propel the car
	3.	fifth wheel - a steering bearing that enables the front axle of a horse-drawn wagon to rotate bearing - a rotating support placed between moving parts to allow them to move easily

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aðskotadýr

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References in periodicals archive ?

[USPRwire, Tue Aug 06 2019] The increased focus on the safety of goods transported in trailers, increased demand for reducing damage of goods transported, and the vast rise in regional transport of goods in the past few years has necessitated the development of advanced fifth wheel coupling systems.

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[ClickPress, Mon Aug 05 2019] The increased focus on the safety of goods transported in trailers, increased demand for reducing damage of goods transported, and the vast rise in regional transport of goods in the past few years has necessitated the development of advanced fifth wheel coupling systems.

Lucrative Scenarios Linger over Automotive Fifth Wheel Coupling Market with Growing Consumer Prefere

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The Model T1, which has been designed with a purpose-built, low load wheelie bin trailer and a fifth wheel coupling, takes 360l bins direct from each workstation to the compactor.

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