wheelhouse

noun

wheel·​house ˈ(h)wēl-ˌhau̇s 

plural wheelhouses

1

: pilothouse

Looking out at the all-but-empty bay from the wheelhouse of the new 28-foot research boat …

—Bill Nemitz

He climbed a rickety rope ladder to the ship's deck, then another five flights of stairs to the wheelhouse.

—Daniel Machalaba

2

: a place or center of control or leadership (as in an organization)

But while there was momentary calm in the wheelhouse, there was still a real question whether anyone was really in command of the administration's foreign-policy machinery.

—David Gelman et al.

3

US

a

baseball : the section of the strike zone where it is easiest for the batter to hit the ball well

The home run came on a 3–2 pitch. [Danny] Graves tried to get Jenkins with a sinker. "It was right in his wheelhouse," Graves said.

—John Fay

b

: an area that matches a person's skills or expertise

… he was right in his wheelhouse—politics is where [Stephen] Colbert soars.

—Adam Chitwood

Examples of wheelhouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As a former preschool teacher, this was right in my wheelhouse, too. —Allison Tibaldi, USA TODAY, 26 Nov. 2024

Higher still, the upper deck features a giant indoor-outdoor lounge with a cozy fireplace and a wheelhouse with enough comfy seating for guests and crew. —Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 27 Sep. 2024

Rousing wheelhouse kicks and exiting barrel rolls make this no-frills action flick a distinct take on the genre. —Robert Daniels, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024

However, the album proved too outside his creative wheelhouse to ever reach fruition. —Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 20 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

wheelhouse

noun

wheel·​house -ˌhau̇s 

1

: pilothouse

2

: the place of control or leadership (as in an organization)

3

: an area that matches a person's skills or expertise