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wheel out

B2 informal separable transitive
In simple words

To bring something out to show people, especially something that has been used many times before.

Literal meaning: To physically push something out on wheels from where it was stored.

Meanings

1 B1 neutral

To physically bring someone or something out from one place to another using wheels.

"The caterers wheeled out the dessert trolley at the end of the banquet."

Grammar: separable
2 B2 idiomatic informal

To produce or present someone or something in a way that seems routine, calculated, or repetitive, often implying predictability.

"The politicians wheeled out the same tired promises they had made in the last three elections."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Often used with a slightly critical or ironic tone, suggesting that whatever is being produced is familiar, overused, or done mechanically. Common in political and media commentary: 'the government wheeled out the same tired excuses.'

Commonly used with

excuse expert argument statistic celebrity proposal

Forms

Base
wheel out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
wheels out
he/she/it
Past simple
wheeled out
yesterday
Past participle
wheeled out
have + pp
-ing form
wheeling out
continuous

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