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21 dictionary results for: Wind
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
wind1       [n. wind, Literary wahynd; v. wind] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.air in natural motion, as that moving horizontally at any velocity along the earth's surface: A gentle wind blew through the valley. High winds were forecast.
2.a gale; storm; hurricane.
3.any stream of air, as that produced by a bellows or fan.
4.air that is blown or forced to produce a musical sound in singing or playing an instrument.
5.wind instrument.
6.wind instruments collectively.
7.the winds, the members of an orchestra or band who play the wind instruments.
8.breath or breathing: to catch one's wind.
9.the power of breathing freely, as during continued exertion.
10.any influential force or trend: strong winds of public opinion.
11.a hint or intimation: to catch wind of a stock split.
12.air carrying an animal's odor or scent.
13.solar wind.
14.empty talk; mere words.
15.vanity; conceitedness.
16.gas generated in the stomach and intestines.
17.Boxing Slang. the pit of the stomach where a blow may cause a temporary shortness of breath; solar plexus.
18.any direction of the compass.
19.a state of unconcern, recklessness, or abandon: to throw all caution to the winds.
–verb (used with object)
20.to expose to wind or air.
21.to follow by the scent.
22.to make short of wind or breath, as by vigorous exercise.
23.to let recover breath, as by resting after exertion.
–verb (used without object)
24.to catch the scent or odor of game.
—Idioms
25.between wind and water,
a.(of a ship) at or near the water line.
b.in a vulnerable or precarious spot: In her profession one is always between wind and water.
26.break wind, to expel gas from the stomach and bowels through the anus.
27.how the wind blows or lies, what the tendency or probability is: Try to find out how the wind blows. Also, which way the wind blows.
28.in the teeth of the wind, sailing directly into the wind; against the wind. Also, in the eye of the wind, in the wind's eye.
29.in the wind, about to occur; imminent; impending: There's good news in the wind.
30.off the wind,
a.away from the wind; with the wind at one's back.
b.(of a sailing vessel) headed into the wind with sails shaking or aback.
31.on the wind, as close as possible to the wind. Also, on a wind.
32.sail close to the wind,
a.Also, sail close on a wind. to sail as nearly as possible in the direction from which the wind is blowing.
b.to practice economy in the management of one's affairs.
c.to verge on a breach of propriety or decency.
d.to escape (punishment, detection, etc.) by a narrow margin; take a risk.
33.take the wind out of one's sails, to surprise someone, esp. with unpleasant news; stun; shock; flabbergast: She took the wind out of his sails when she announced she was marrying someone else.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME (n.), OE; c. D, G Wind, ON vindr, Goth winds, L ventus]

—Synonyms 1. Wind, air, zephyr, breeze, blast, gust refer to a quantity of air set in motion naturally. Wind applies to any such air in motion, blowing with whatever degree of gentleness or violence. Air, usually poetical, applies to a very gentle motion of the air. Zephyr, also poetical, refers to an air characterized by its soft, mild quality. A breeze is usually a cool, light wind. Blast and gust apply to quick, forceful winds of short duration; blast implies a violent rush of air, often a cold one, whereas a gust is little more than a flurry. 16. flatulence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
wind2       [wahynd] Pronunciation Key verb, wound or (Rare) wind·ed       [wahyn-did] Pronunciation Key; wind·ing; noun
–verb (used without object)
1.to change direction; bend; turn; take a frequently bending course; meander: The river winds through the forest.
2.to have a circular or spiral course or direction.
3.to coil or twine about something: The ivy winds around the house.
4.to proceed circuitously or indirectly.
5.to undergo winding or winding up.
6.to be twisted or warped, as a board.
–verb (used with object)
7.to encircle or wreathe, as with something twined, wrapped, or placed about.
8.to roll or coil (thread, string, etc.) into a ball, on a spool, or the like (often fol. by up).
9.to remove or take off by unwinding (usually fol. by off or from): She wound the thread off the bobbin.
10.to twine, fold, wrap, or place about something.
11.to make (a mechanism) operational by tightening the mainspring with a key (often fol. by up): to wind a clock; to wind up a toy.
12.to haul or hoist by means of a winch, windlass, or the like (often fol. by up).
13.to make (one's or its way) in a bending or curving course: The stream winds its way through the woods.
14.to make (one's or its way) by indirect, stealthy, or devious procedure: to wind one's way into another's confidence.
–noun
15.the act of winding.
16.a single turn, twist, or bend of something wound: If you give it another wind, you'll break the mainspring.
17.a twist producing an uneven surface.
—Verb phrases
18.wind down,
a.to lessen in intensity so as to bring or come to a gradual end: The war is winding down.
b.to calm down; relax: He's too excited tonight to wind down and sleep.
19.wind up,
a.to bring to a state of great tension; excite (usually used in the past participle): He was all wound up before the game.
b.to bring or come to an end; conclude: to wind up a sales campaign.
c.to settle or arrange in order to conclude: to wind up one's affairs.
d.to become ultimately: to wind up as a country schoolteacher.
e.Baseball. (of a pitcher) to execute a windup.
—Idiom
20.out of wind, (of boards, plasterwork, etc.) flat and true.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME winden, OE windan; c. D, G winden, ON vinda, Goth -windan; akin to wend, wander]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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wind3       [wahynd, wind] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used with object), wind·ed or wound, wind·ing.
1.to blow (a horn, a blast, etc.).
2.to sound by blowing.
3.to signal or direct by blasts of the horn or the like.
[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME; special use of wind1]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
WInd
West Indian.
Also, W.Ind.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Wind River [wind] Pronunciation Key
–noun
a river in W central Wyoming, flowing SE and joining the Popo Agie River to form the Bighorn River. 120 mi. (193 km) long.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
wind 1       (wĭnd)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
    1. Moving air, especially a natural and perceptible movement of air parallel to or along the ground.
    2. A movement of air generated artificially, as by bellows or a fan.
    3. The direction from which a movement of air comes: The wind is north-northwest.
    4. A movement of air coming from one of the four cardinal points of the compass: the four winds.
    5. Breath, especially normal or adequate breathing; respiration: had the wind knocked out of them.
    6. Gas produced in the stomach or intestines during digestion; flatulence.
    7. The brass and woodwinds sections of a band or orchestra. Often used in the plural.
    8. Wind instruments or their players considered as a group. Often used in the plural.
    9. Woodwinds. Often used in the plural.
    10. Something that disrupts or destroys: the winds of war.
    11. A tendency; a trend: the winds of change.
    12. Speech or writing empty of meaning; verbiage: His remarks on the subject are nothing but wind.
    13. Vain self-importance; pomposity: an expert who was full of wind even before becoming famous.
    1. The direction from which a movement of air comes: The wind is north-northwest.
    2. A movement of air coming from one of the four cardinal points of the compass: the four winds.
    3. Breath, especially normal or adequate breathing; respiration: had the wind knocked out of them.
    4. Gas produced in the stomach or intestines during digestion; flatulence.
    5. The brass and woodwinds sections of a band or orchestra. Often used in the plural.
    6. Wind instruments or their players considered as a group. Often used in the plural.
    7. Woodwinds. Often used in the plural.
    8. Something that disrupts or destroys: the winds of war.
    9. A tendency; a trend: the winds of change.
    10. Speech or writing empty of meaning; verbiage: His remarks on the subject are nothing but wind.
    11. Vain self-importance; pomposity: an expert who was full of wind even before becoming famous.
  3. Moving air carrying sound, an odor, or a scent.
    1. Breath, especially normal or adequate breathing; respiration: had the wind knocked out of them.
    2. Gas produced in the stomach or intestines during digestion; flatulence.
    3. The brass and woodwinds sections of a band or orchestra. Often used in the plural.
    4. Wind instruments or their players considered as a group. Often used in the plural.
    5. Woodwinds. Often used in the plural.
    6. Something that disrupts or destroys: the winds of war.
    7. A tendency; a trend: the winds of change.
    8. Speech or writing empty of meaning; verbiage: His remarks on the subject are nothing but wind.
    9. Vain self-importance; pomposity: an expert who was full of wind even before becoming famous.
  5. Music
    1. The brass and woodwinds sections of a band or orchestra. Often used in the plural.
    2. Wind instruments or their players considered as a group. Often used in the plural.
    3. Woodwinds. Often used in the plural.
    4. Something that disrupts or destroys: the winds of war.
    5. A tendency; a trend: the winds of change.
    6. Speech or writing empty of meaning; verbiage: His remarks on the subject are nothing but wind.
    7. Vain self-importance; pomposity: an expert who was full of wind even before becoming famous.
    1. Something that disrupts or destroys: the winds of war.
    2. A tendency; a trend: the winds of change.
    3. Speech or writing empty of meaning; verbiage: His remarks on the subject are nothing but wind.
    4. Vain self-importance; pomposity: an expert who was full of wind even before becoming famous.
  7. Information, especially of something concealed; intimation: Trouble will ensue if wind of this scandal gets out.
    1. Speech or writing empty of meaning; verbiage: His remarks on the subject are nothing but wind.
    2. Vain self-importance; pomposity: an expert who was full of wind even before becoming famous.

tr.v.   wind·ed, wind·ing, winds
  1. To expose to free movement of air; ventilate or dry.
    1. To detect the smell of; catch a scent of.
    2. To pursue by following a scent.
  3. To cause to be out of or short of breath.
  4. To afford a recovery of breath: stopped to wind and water the horses.


[Middle English, from Old English; see wē- in Indo-European roots.]

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wind 2       (wīnd)  Pronunciation Key 
v.   wound (wound), wind·ing, winds

v.   tr.
  1. To wrap (something) around a center or another object once or repeatedly: wind string around a spool.
  2. To wrap or encircle (an object) in a series of coils; entwine: wound her injured leg with a bandage; wound the waist of the gown with lace and ribbons.
    1. To go along (a curving or twisting course): wind a path through the mountains.
    2. To proceed on (one's way) with a curving or twisting course.
    3. To coil the spring of (a mechanism) by turning a stem or cord, for example: wind a watch.
    4. To coil (thread, for example), as onto a spool or into a ball.
    5. To remove or unwind (thread, for example), as from a spool: wound the line off the reel.
  4. To introduce in a disguised or devious manner; insinuate: He wound a plea for money into his letter.
  5. To turn (a crank, for example) in a series of circular motions.
    1. To coil the spring of (a mechanism) by turning a stem or cord, for example: wind a watch.
    2. To coil (thread, for example), as onto a spool or into a ball.
    3. To remove or unwind (thread, for example), as from a spool: wound the line off the reel.
  7. To lift or haul by means of a windlass or winch: Wind the pail to the top of the well.

v.   intr.
  1. To move in or have a curving or twisting course: a river winding through a valley.
    1. To move in or have a spiral or circular course: a column of smoke winding into the sky.
    2. To be coiled or spiraled: The vine wound about the trellis.
  3. To be twisted or whorled into curved forms.
  4. To proceed misleadingly or insidiously in discourse or conduct.
  5. To become wound: a clock that winds with difficulty.

n.  
  1. The act of winding.
  2. A single turn, twist, or curve.

Phrasal Verb(s):
wind down Informal
  1. To diminish gradually in energy, intensity, or scope: The party wound down as guests began to leave.
  2. To relax; unwind.
wind up
  1. To come or bring to a finish; end: when the meeting wound up; wind up a project.
  2. To put in order; settle: wound up her affairs before leaving the country.
  3. Informal To arrive in a place or situation after or because of a course of action: took a long walk and wound up at the edge of town; overspent and wound up in debt.
  4. Baseball To swing back the arm and raise the foot in preparation for pitching the ball.

[Middle English winden, from Old English windan.]

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wind 3       (wīnd, wĭnd)  Pronunciation Key 
tr.v.   wind·ed (wīn'dĭd, wĭn'-) or wound (wound), wind·ing, winds Music
  1. To blow (a wind instrument).
  2. To sound by blowing.


[From wind1.]

wind'er n.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
wind  (n.)
"air in motion," O.E. wind, from P.Gmc. *wendas (cf. O.S., O.Fris., Du. wind, O.N. vindr, O.H.G. wind, Ger. Wind, Goth. winds), from PIE *we-nt-o- "blowing," from base *we- "to blow" (cf. Skt. va-, Gk. aemi-, Goth. waian, O.E. wawan, O.H.G. wajan, Ger. wehen, O.C.S. vejati "to blow;" Skt. vatah, Avestan vata-, Hittite huwantis, L. ventus, O.C.S. vetru, Lith. vejas "wind;" Lith. vetra "tempest, storm;" O.Ir. feth "air;" Welsh gwynt, Bret. gwent "wind"). Normal pronunciation evolution made this word rhyme with kind and rind (Donne rhymes it with mind), but shifted to a short vowel 18c., probably from influence of windy, where the short vowel is natural. A sad loss for poets, who now must rhyme it only with sinned and a handful of weak words. Symbolic of emptiness and vanity since c.1290.
"I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind." [Ernest Dowson, 1896]
To get wind of "receive information about" is recorded from 1809, perhaps from Fr. avoir le vent de. Wind-chill index is recorded from 1939. The verb meaning "tire, put out of breath" is attested from 1811.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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wind  (v.)
"move by turning and twisting," O.E. windan "to turn, twist, wind" (class III strong verb; past tense wand, pp. wunden), from P.Gmc. *wendanan (cf. O.S. windan, O.N. vinda, O.Fris. winda, Du. winden, O.H.G. wintan, Ger. winden, Goth. windan "to wind"), from PIE *wendh- "to turn, wind, weave" (cf. L. viere "twist, plait, weave," vincire "bind," Lith. vyti "twist, wind"). Related to wend, which is its causative form, and to wander. Wind down "come to a conclusion" is recorded from 1952; wind up "come to a conclusion" is from 1825. Winding sheet "shroud of a corpse" is attested from c.1420.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
wind

noun
1. air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure; "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 atmosphere" 
2. a tendency or force that influences events; "the winds of change" 
3. breath; "the collision knocked the wind out of him" 
4. empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk; "that's a lot of wind"; "don't give me any of that jazz" 
5. an indication of potential opportunity; "he got a tip on the stock market"; "a good lead for a job" [syn: tip] 
6. a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by an enclosed column of air that is moved by the breath [syn: wind instrument] 
7. a reflex that expels intestinal gas through the anus [syn: fart] 
8. the act of winding or twisting; "he put the key in the old clock and gave it a good wind" 

verb
1. to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course; "the river winds through the hills"; "the path meanders through the vineyards"; "sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body" [syn: weave] 
2. extend in curves and turns; "The road winds around the lake"; "the path twisted through the forest" 
3. arrange or or coil around; "roll your hair around your finger"; "Twine the thread around the spool"; "She wrapped her arms around the child" [ant: unroll] 
4. catch the scent of; get wind of; "The dog nosed out the drugs" [syn: scent] 
5. coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem; "wind your watch" 
6. form into a wreath [syn: wreathe] 
7. raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help; "hoist the bicycle onto the roof of the car" [syn: hoist] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

wind

In addition to the idioms beginning with wind, also see before the wind; break wind; get wind of; gone with the wind; ill wind; in the wind; like greased lightning (the wind); sail close to the wind; second wind; something in the wind; straw in the wind; take the wind out of one's sails; three sheets to the wind; throw caution to the winds; twist in the wind; way the wind blows.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
wind       (wĭnd)  Pronunciation Key 


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A current of air, especially a natural one that moves along or parallel to the ground, moving from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. Surface wind is measured by anemometers or its effect on objects, such as trees. The large-scale pattern of winds on Earth is governed primarily by differences in the net solar radiation received at the Earth's surface, but it is also influenced by the Earth's rotation, by the distribution of continents and oceans, by ocean currents, and by topography. On a local scale, the differences in rate of heating and cooling of land versus bodies of water greatly affect wind formation. Prevailing global winds are classified into three major belts in the Northern Hemisphere and three corresponding belts in the Southern Hemisphere. The trade winds blow generally east to west toward a low-pressure zone at the equator throughout the region from 30° north to 30° south of the equator. The westerlies blow from west to east in the temperate mid-latitude regions (from 30° to 60° north and south of the equator), and the polar easterlies blow from east to west out of high-pressure areas in the polar regions. See also Beaufort scale, chinook, foehn, monsoon, Santa Ana.

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Wind Gap, PA (borough, FIPS 85664) Location: 40.84755 N, 75.29168 W
Population (1990): 2741 (1164 housing units)
Area: 3.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 18091

Wind Lake, WI (CDP, FIPS 87675) Location: 42.82243 N, 88.15680 W
Population (1990): 3748 (1411 housing units)
Area: 12.2 sq km (land), 4.9 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 53185

Wind Ridge, PA Zip code(s): 15380

Wind Point, WI (village, FIPS 87700) Location: 42.78166 N, 87.77293 W
Population (1990): 1941 (738 housing units)
Area: 3.2 sq km (land), 0.4 sq km (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Wind

Wind\, n. (Boxing) The region of the pit of the stomach, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury; the mark. [Slang or Cant]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Wind

Wind\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wound (wound) (rarely Winded); p. pr. & vb. n. Winding.] [OE. winden, AS. windan; akin to OS. windan, D. & G. winden, OHG. wintan, Icel. & Sw. vinda, Dan. vinde, Goth. windan (in comp.). Cf. Wander, Wend.]

1. To turn completely, or with repeated turns; especially, to turn about something fixed; to cause to form convolutions about anything; to coil; to twine; to twist; to wreathe; as, to wind thread on a spool or into a ball.

Whether to wind The woodbine round this arbor. --Milton.

2. To entwist; to infold; to encircle.

Sleep, and I will wind thee in arms. --Shak.

3. To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter or will; to regulate; to govern. "To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus." --Shak.

In his terms so he would him wind. --Chaucer.

Gifts blind the wise, and bribes do please And wind all other witnesses. --Herrick.

Were our legislature vested in the prince, he might wind and turn our constitution at his pleasure. --Addison.

4. To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate.

You have contrived . . . to wind Yourself into a power tyrannical. --Shak.

Little arts and dexterities they have to wind in such things into discourse. --Gov. of Tongue.

5. To cover or surround with something coiled about; as, to wind a rope with twine.

To wind off, to unwind; to uncoil.

To wind out, to extricate. [Obs.] --Clarendon.

To wind up. (a) To coil into a ball or small compass, as a skein of thread; to coil completely. (b) To bring to a conclusion or settlement; as, to wind up one's affairs; to wind up an argument. (c) To put in a state of renewed or continued motion, as a clock, a watch, etc., by winding the spring, or that which carries the weight; hence, to prepare for continued movement or action; to put in order anew. "Fate seemed to wind him up for fourscore years." --Dryden. "Thus they wound up his temper to a pitch." --Atterbury. (d) To tighten (the strings) of a musical instrument, so as to tune it. "Wind up the slackened strings of thy lute." --Waller.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Wind

Wind\, v. i. 1. To turn completely or repeatedly; to become coiled about anything; to assume a convolved or spiral form; as, vines wind round a pole.

So swift your judgments turn and wind. --Dryden.

2. To have a circular course or direction; to crook; to bend; to meander; as, to wind in and out among trees.

And where the valley winded out below, The murmuring main was heard, and scarcely heard, to flow. --Thomson.

He therefore turned him to the steep and rocky path which . . . winded through the thickets of wild boxwood and other low aromatic shrubs. --Sir W. Scott.

3. To go to the one side or the other; to move this way and that; to double on one's course; as, a hare pursued turns and winds.

The lowing herd wind ?lowly o'er the lea. --Gray.

To wind out, to extricate one's self; to escape. Long struggling underneath are they could wind Out of such prison. --Milton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Wind

Wind\, n. The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist; a winding.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Wind

Wind\ (w[i^]nd, in poetry and singing often w[imac]nd; 277), n. [AS. wind; akin to OS., OFries., D., & G. wind, OHG. wint, Dan. & Sw. vind, Icel. vindr, Goth winds, W. gwynt, L. ventus, Skr. v[=a]ta (cf. Gr. 'ah`ths a blast, gale, 'ah^nai to breathe hard, to blow, as the wind); originally a p. pr. from the verb seen in Skr. v[=a] to blow, akin to AS. w[=a]wan, D. waaijen, G. wehen, OHG. w[=a]en, w[=a]jen, Goth. waian. [root]131. Cf. Air, Ventail, Ventilate, Window, Winnow.]

1. Air naturally in motion with any degree of velocity; a current of air.

Except wind stands as never it stood, It is an ill wind that turns none to good. --Tusser.

Winds were soft, and woods were green. --Longfellow.

2. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action; as, the wind of a cannon ball; the wind of a bellows.

3. Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument.

Their instruments were various in their kind, Some for the bow, and some for breathing wind. --Dryden.

4. Power of respiration; breath.

If my wind were but long enough to say my prayers, I would repent. --Shak.

5. Air or gas generated in the stomach or bowels; flatulence; as, to be troubled with wind.

6. Air impregnated with an odor or scent.

A pack of dogfish had him in the wind. --Swift.

7. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points, which are often called the four winds.

Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain. --Ezek. xxxvii. 9.

Note: This sense seems to have had its origin in the East. The Hebrews gave to each of the four cardinal points the name of wind.

8. (Far.) A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing.

9. Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words.

Nor think thou with wind Of airy threats to awe. --Milton.

10. (Zo["o]l.) The dotterel. [Prov. Eng.]

Note: Wind is often used adjectively, or as the first part of compound words.

All in the wind. (Naut.) See under All, n.

Before the wind. (Naut.) See under Before.

Between wind and water (Naut.), in that part of a ship's side or bottom which is frequently brought above water by the rolling of the ship, or fluctuation of the water's surface. Hence, colloquially, (as an injury to that part of a vessel, in an engagement, is particularly dangerous) the vulnerable part or point of anything.

Cardinal winds. See under Cardinal, a.

Down the wind. (a) In the direction of, and moving with, the wind; as, birds fly swiftly down the wind. (b) Decaying; declining; in a state of decay. [Obs.] "He went down the wind still." --L'Estrange.

In the wind's eye (Naut.), directly toward the point from which the wind blows.

Three sheets in the wind, unsteady from drink. [Sailors' Slang]

To be in the wind, to be suggested or expected; to be a matter of suspicion or surmise. [Colloq.]

To carry the wind (Man.), to toss the nose as high as the ears, as a horse.

To raise the wind, to procure money. [Colloq.]

To take, or have, the wind, to gain or have the advantage. --Bacon.

To take the wind out of one's sails, to cause one to stop, or lose way, as when a vessel intercepts the wind of another. [Colloq.]

To take wind, or To get wind, to be divulged; to become public; as, the story got wind, or took wind.

Wind band (Mus.), a band of wind instruments; a military band; the wind instruments of an orchestra.

Wind chest (Mus.), a chest or reservoir of wind in an organ.

Wind dropsy. (Med.) (a) Tympanites. (b) Emphysema of the subcutaneous areolar tissue.

Wind egg, an imperfect, unimpregnated, or addled egg.

Wind furnace. See the Note under Furnace.

Wind gauge. See under Gauge.

Wind gun. Same as Air gun.

Wind hatch (Mining), the opening or place where the ore is taken out of the earth.

Wind instrument (Mus.), an instrument of music sounded by means of wind, especially by means of the breath, as a flute, a clarinet, etc.

Wind pump, a pump moved by a windmill.

Wind rose, a table of the points of the compass, giving the states of the barometer, etc., connected with winds from the different directions.

Wind sail. (a) (Naut.) A wide tube or funnel of canvas, used to convey a stream of air for ventilation into the lower compartments of a vessel. (b) The sail or vane of a windmill.

Wind shake, a crack or incoherence in timber produced by violent winds while the timber was growing.

Wind shock, a wind shake.

Wind side, the side next the wind; the windward side. [R.] --Mrs. Browning.

Wind rush (Zo["o]l.), the redwing. [Prov. Eng.]

Wind wheel, a motor consisting of a wheel moved by wind.

Wood wind (Mus.), the flutes and reed instruments of an orchestra, collectively.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.