Meaning of wind in English

  1. Pronunciation

    US accent

    UK accent

  1. Verb

    wind

    Etymology

    Old English windan ‘go rapidly’, ‘twine’, of Germanic origin; related to wander and wend

    Definitions

    1. to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course

    Examples

    • « the river winds through the hills »
    • « the path meanders through the vineyards »
    • « sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body »
  2. 2. extend in curves and turns

    Examples

    • « The road winds around the lake »
  3. 3. wrap or coil around

    Examples

    • « roll your hair around your finger »
    • « Twine the thread around the spool »

    Antonyms

  4. 4. catch the scent of

    Examples

    • « get wind of »
    • « The dog nosed out the drugs »
  5. 5. coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem

    Examples

    • « wind your watch »
  6. 6. form into a wreath
  7. 7. raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help

    Examples

    • « hoist the bicycle onto the roof of the car »

  8. Noun

    wind

    Etymology

    Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wind and German Wind, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin ventus

    Definitions

    1. air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure

    Examples

    • « trees bent under the fierce winds »
    • « when there is no wind, row »
    • « the radioactivity was being swept upwards by the air current and out into the atmo »
  9. 2. a tendency or force that influences events

    Examples

    • « the winds of change »
  10. 3. breath

    Examples

    • « the collision knocked the wind out of him »
  11. 4. empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk

    Examples

    • « that's a lot of wind »
    • « don't give me any of that jazz »
  12. 5. an indication of potential opportunity

    Examples

    • « he got a tip on the stock market »
    • « a good lead for a job »
  13. 6. a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by an enclosed column of air that is moved by the breath
  14. 7. a reflex that expels intestinal gas through the anus
  15. 8. the act of winding or twisting

    Examples

    • « he put the key in the old clock and gave it a good wind »