winch
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Lifting device made up of a horizontal cylinder turned by a crank on which a cable or rope winds.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
winchIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwɪntʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Lifting device consisting of a horizontal cylinder turned by a crank on which a cable or rope winds
A machine consisting of a drum on an axle, a friction brake or ratchet and pawl, and a crank handle or prime mover (often an electric or hydraulic motor), with or without gearing, to give increased mechanical advantage when hoisting or hauling on a rope or cable.
nautical
A hoisting device used for loading or unloading cargo, or for pulling in lines.
A wince (machine used in dyeing or steeping cloth).
A kick, as of an animal, from impatience or uneasiness.
verb
To wince; to shrink
To kick with impatience or uneasiness.
Pull or lift up with or as if with a winch
To use a winch
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Lifting device consisting of a horizontal cylinder turned by a crank on which a cable or rope winds
Used this way, winch is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: lifting device consisting of a horizontal cylinder turned by a crank on which a cable
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.