noun
Meaning 1
Alternative form of wind-up.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Phrase guide
wind up
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/waɪnd ˈʌp/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
verb
Meaning 2
To wind (rope, string, mainsprings, etc.) completely.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: literally, transitive
Examples
- I wound up the spool of rope.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: unwind, unspool, play out, wind down
verb
Meaning 3
To put (a clock, watch, etc.) in a state of renewed or continued motion by winding the spring or other energy-storage mechanism.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- I wound up the clock.
- Your pocket watch will run for a long time if you wind up the spring all the way.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To tighten (someone or something) by winding or twisting.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, figuratively, transitive
Examples
- The movie wound me up emotionally.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bind, cinch, brace, clench, constrict, squeeze, tighten, taughten, tauten, tense
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To excite.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, figuratively, transitive
Examples
- Try not to wind up the kids too much right before bedtime.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: gin up, stimulate, work up, animate, awaken, electrify, enflame, enkindle, enthrill, exagitate, excite, exhilarate, exsuscitate, fillip, fire, fire the blood, galvanize, ignite, inflame, intoxicate, kindle, quicken, rouse, send, set fire to, set on fire, sharpen, stir the blood, suscitate, thrill, vitalise, wake, warm the blood, whet, wind up, yerk
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To upset; to anger or distress.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, figuratively, transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: burn up, get up, get someone's back up, rile up, aggravate, annoy, nettle, rankle, ruffle, sting, antagonize, bother, disgruntle, botherate, bug, get, grate, bedevil, cheese off, devil, exasperate, frustrate, grotch, hack off, hassle, irk, irritate, jazz, molest, mommick, nark, nerve, pee off, peeve, peeve off, persecute, pique, piss off, provoke, rile, roil, storm, test someone's patience, tick off, trouble, try one's patience, vex, wind up, Idioms:, boil someone's piss, chap someone's hide, get on someone's nerves, get on someone's tits, get on someone's wick, get someone's dander up, get someone's goat, get someone's Irish up, get someone's nanny, get someone's nanny-goat, get under one's goat, get under someone's skin, give someone the shits, grind one's gears, harsh one's mellow, put someone's back up, raise someone's hackles, rub someone the wrong way, rub up the wrong way, ruffle someone's feathers, tee off, torque off, affront, anger, awrath, cross, embitter, envenom, gall, get to, honk off, incense, inflame, infuriate, madden, make angry, offend, outrage, put out, set off, steam, get one's back up, make someone see red, make someone's blood boil, raise someone's shag, rattle someone's cage, rub the wrong way, ruffle some feathers, set up someone's birse
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
To roll up (a car window or well bucket, etc., by cranking).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: literally, transitive
Examples
- Wind up your window — it's starting to rain.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: roll up, raise
Antonyms: wind down, roll down, lower
verb
Meaning 8
To end up; to arrive or result.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: copulative, intransitive
Examples
- Mess around with drugs and wind up broke.
- I followed the signs, and I wound up getting nowhere.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: end up, turn out, turn up
Antonyms: start out
verb
Meaning 9
To increase (in some aspect).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: go up, shoot up, accelerate, accrue, aggrandize, augment, embiggen, enhance, enlarge, greaten, grow, heighten, increase, swell, wax, wind up
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 10
To conclude, complete, or finish (something).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- Even though he had bad news, he tried to wind up his speech on a positive note.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: round off, absolve, complete, conclude, consummate, discontinue, do, end, finalize, finish, fullcome, get through, stay, stop, terminate, wind up
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 11
To dissolve (a partnership or corporation) and liquidate its assets.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 12
To play a prank (on); to take the mickey (out of) or mock.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, transitive
Examples
- Twenty quid? Are you winding me up?
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: pull one's leg, take for a ride, befool, chaff, disparage, forgab, frump, gleek, jape, jeer, jibe, josh, kid, lampoon, mimic, mock, needle, niggle, razz, rib, roast, satirize, scoff, scorn, slag, tease, twit, bust on, extract the urine, clown around, make a fool of, make fun of, make sport of, poke fun at, take the piss
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 13
To make the preparatory movements for a certain kind of pitch.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
Topics: ball-games, baseball, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports
Examples
- Paige seemed to be winding up for a fastball but then switched it up.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 14
finally be or do something
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- He ended up marrying his high school sweetheart
- he wound up being unemployed and living at home again
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: finish up, land up, fetch up, end up, finish
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: act, move
verb
Meaning 15
coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- wind your watch
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: wind
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: tighten, fasten
verb
Meaning 16
stimulate sexually
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- This movie usually arouses the male audience
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: arouse, sex, excite, turn on
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: stimulate, shake, shake up, excite, stir
Narrower terms: tempt
verb
Meaning 17
give a preliminary swing to the arm pitching
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: swing
History
Etymology
No etymology was provided for this word.
Across languages
Translations
73 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Finnish: joutua — to end up; to arrive or result
- Finnish: päätyä — to end up; to arrive or result
- French: arriver — to end up; to arrive or result
- French: terminer — to end up; to arrive or result
- Hungarian: kiköt — to end up; to arrive or result
- Hungarian: kerül — to end up; to arrive or result
- Hungarian: jut — to end up; to arrive or result
- Hungarian: érkezik — to end up; to arrive or result
- Hungarian: találja magát — to end up; to arrive or result
- Korean: 종식되다 (jongsikdoeda) — to end up; to arrive or result
- Occitan: acabar — to end up; to arrive or result
- Occitan: arribar — to end up; to arrive or result
- Portuguese: acabar — to end up; to arrive or result
- Portuguese: resultante — to end up; to arrive or result
- Sassarese: finì — to end up; to arrive or result
- Spanish: ir a parar — to end up; to arrive or result
- Danish: gøre færdig — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Danish: lave færdig — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Danish: afslutte — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Finnish: päättää — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Finnish: lopettaa — to conclude, complete, or finish
- French: conclure — to conclude, complete, or finish
- French: terminer — to conclude, complete, or finish
- French: achever — to conclude, complete, or finish
- German: beschließen — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Hungarian: lezár — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Hungarian: lekerekít — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Hungarian: befejez — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Korean: 종식되다 (jongsikdoeda) — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Māori: whakamutu — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Occitan: acabar — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Occitan: claure — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Occitan: conclure — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Portuguese: terminar — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Portuguese: concluir — to conclude, complete, or finish
- Danish: stramme op — to tighten by winding or twisting
- Finnish: vetää — to tighten by winding or twisting
- French: remonter — to tighten by winding or twisting
- German: aufziehen — to tighten by winding or twisting
- Hungarian: felhúz — to tighten by winding or twisting
- Hungarian: felteker — to tighten by winding or twisting
- Occitan: montar — to tighten by winding or twisting
- Occitan: amodar — to tighten by winding or twisting
- Portuguese: dar corda — to tighten by winding or twisting
- Spanish: dar cuerda — to tighten by winding or twisting
- Dutch: opwinden — to excite
- Finnish: innostaa — to excite
- Hungarian: felzaklat — to excite
- Hungarian: felizgat — to excite
- Hungarian: felbosszant — to excite
- Hungarian: feldühít — to excite
- Hungarian: felhergel — to excite
- Portuguese: animar — to excite
- Portuguese: excitar — to excite
- Russian: раззадоривать (razzadorivatʹ) — to excite
- Finnish: vedättää — to play a prank, to take the mickey or mock
- French: se moquer — to play a prank, to take the mickey or mock
- French: vanner — to play a prank, to take the mickey or mock
- German: aufziehen — to play a prank, to take the mickey or mock
- Hungarian: ugrat — to play a prank, to take the mickey or mock
- Occitan: se trufar — to play a prank, to take the mickey or mock
- Polish: robić w konia — to play a prank, to take the mickey or mock
- Portuguese: pregar uma peça — to play a prank, to take the mickey or mock
- Spanish: tomar el pelo — to play a prank, to take the mickey or mock
- Danish: opløse — to dissolve a partnership or corporation and liquidate its assets
- Finnish: purkaa — to dissolve a partnership or corporation and liquidate its assets
- French: liquider — to dissolve a partnership or corporation and liquidate its assets
- French: terminer — to dissolve a partnership or corporation and liquidate its assets
- German: auflösen — to dissolve a partnership or corporation and liquidate its assets
- Hungarian: felszámol — to dissolve a partnership or corporation and liquidate its assets
- Māori: whakamutu — to dissolve a partnership or corporation and liquidate its assets
- Occitan: acabar — to dissolve a partnership or corporation and liquidate its assets
- Occitan: liquidar — to dissolve a partnership or corporation and liquidate its assets