- one of the thin bars or long, straight pieces of metal that connect the centre of a wheel to its outer edge, for example on a bicycleWord OriginOld English spāca, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch speek, German Speiche, from the base of the verb spike.
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Idioms
See spoke in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryput a spoke in somebody’s wheel
- (British English) to prevent somebody from putting their plans into operation
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spoke