noun
wheelhouse
WEEL-hows
noun
1
The enclosed area on a ship or boat from which it is steered.
"The captain stood in the wheelhouse, guiding the ferry into port."
2
A person's particular area of skill, interest, or expertise.
"Fixing old engines is right in his wheelhouse."
How to Use Wheelhouse
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishLiterally, the steering compartment of a boat; figuratively, someone's comfort zone of expertise.
Common pairings
right in someone's wheelhouse
outside my wheelhouse
Word Forms
wheelhouses plural
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The captain stood in the _____, guiding the ferry into port.
Etymology
From "wheel" plus "house" — originally the housing around a ship's steering wheel; the figurative sense (baseball, then general use) comes from the idea of a batter's favorite pitch zone.