A capstan is a round machine shaped like a short, fat drum standing on its end. You wind a rope around it and turn the drum so the rope pulls in. That pull is strong enough to lift an anchor or move something very heavy. On old ships, sailors put long bars into the capstan and walked round and round to turn it. Today you still see them in harbours and on ships, often turned by a motor. It is a specialist word: sailors and dock workers know it; many other people would just say winch, or “the machine that winds the rope.” A winch is often smaller and has a handle at the side; a capstan stands upright. Though actually, even people on boats mix the two words, so do not feel small if you do too.

絞盤（直立、用來收繩拉重物的那種；船上常見）