the wheels turn

the wheels are turning

Things have begun developing, unfolding, or progressing. If you're going to act, you have to do it now, but once the wheels are turning, there is no going back. A: "What's the status of our new deployment strategy?" B: "The wheels are turning, we're just waiting for some feedback on how well it's being received."
See also: turning, wheel

the wheels turn

Progress is being or continues to be made. Typically used in conjunction with verbs like "continue" or "keep." We need to keep the wheels turning with this project or we're not going to make the January deadline. Despite the turmoil in the studio, the wheels continued to turn, and the film eventually saw the light of day 15 years after it first started development.
See also: turn, wheel
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

the wheels turn

If you say that the wheels turn in a process or situation, you mean that progress is made. The wheels continue to turn on plans to convert the building into a bookstore. Note: You can also say that someone or something keeps the wheels turning to mean that they cause progress to be made. It is the small entrepreneurs of this country that keep the wheels of commerce turning.
See also: turn, wheel
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • go well with
  • go well with (someone or something)
  • go in and out
  • goin
  • going my way?
  • (Are you) going my way?
  • be going places
  • got
  • go for (something)
  • go for it
References in classic literature
The half-dozen who were peering at the chain were still among the wheels, like sheep; the wheels turned so suddenly that they were lucky to save their skins and bones; they had very little else to save, or they might not have been so fortunate.
Tale Of Two Cities
In the electric vehicle application, the load is the vehicle's traction motor that provides the propulsion torque to make the wheels turn at a predetermined speed.
Converting Energy: Wolfspeed, A Cree Company Co-Developers: Toyota Research Institute Of North America, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, University Of Arkansas National Center For Reliable Electric Power Transmission, Department Of Energy Vehicle Technologies Office
Cellceutix CEO Leo Ehrlich said, 'When dealing with the most prestigious institutions globally, the wheels turn a bit slow due to the thorough due diligence of those organizations.
-Cellceutix Corporation reveals update on Kevetrin
'According to The Highway Code you're supposed to wait until you see the wheels turn,' she informed me smugly.
Driven to distraction by learner
"I have to say a great thank-you to the staff who are involved as they insure that the wheels turn smoothly.
Sulamani's ton-up cheers Godolphin
The motors on the wheels turn into generators during braking, capturing kinetic energy and storing it in a small battery pack or flywheel.
Range and vision
MR is a restorative, clearing away the cobwebs, cutting through the rust and making the wheels turn again.
The "S"-word has not disappeared
Mr Lunt said: "The realistic position is that whatever the legal rights are the wheels turn so slowly that it would not be resolved by Saturday.
The disappointed fans might not even get their money back, says lawyer
The wheels turned to the right and locked and then it spun," the Daily Telegraph quoted her as saying.
Actress thanks Adele for 'indirectly saving her life'
At the end of each roller, solid wooden wheels were then placed to lift the sledge off the ground, and the wheels turned freely.
Wheeled carts