| 1. | the act of a person or thing that winds. |
| 2. | a bend, turn, or flexure. |
| 3. | a coiling, folding, or wrapping, as of one thing about another. |
| 4. | something that is wound or coiled, or a single round of it. |
| 5. | Electricity.
|
| 6. | bending or turning; sinuous. |
| 7. | spiral, as stairs. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 24. | to catch the scent or odor of game. |
| 25. | 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,
|
| 31. | on the wind, as close as possible to the wind. Also, on a wind. |
| 32. | sail close to the wind,
|
| 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. |

verb, wound or (Rare
) wind⋅ed [wahyn-did]
; wind⋅ing; noun | 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 18. | wind down,
|
| 19. | wind up,
|
| 20. | out of wind, (of boards, plasterwork, etc.) flat and true. |
"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.
winding
in an electric circuit, one or more turns, usually roughly circular or cylindrical, of current-carrying wire designed to produce a magnetic field or to provide electrical resistance or inductance; in the latter case, a coil is also called a choke coil (see also inductance). A soft iron core placed within a coil produces an electromagnet. A cylindrical coil that moves a plunger within it by variations in the current through the coil is known as a solenoid (q.v.).
Learn more about winding with a free trial on Britannica.com.