propeller Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a mechanical device that rotates to push against air or water
    propellor.

WordNet

Pro*pel"ler noun
Definitions
  1. One who, or that which, propels.
  2. A contrivance for propelling a steam vessel, usually consisting of a screw placed in the stern under water, and made to revolve by an engine; a propeller wheel. (b) an analogous device, rotated by an engine at high speed to provide the forward thrust which propels an airplane through the atmosphere. On each engine is a propeller consisting of a set of at least two elongated blades attached symmetrically to a central rotor.
  3. A steamboat thus propelled; a screw steamer.

Webster 1913