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wind up

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To end up.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

wynduhp

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈwaɪnˈdʌp

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. intransitivecopulative

    To end up; to arrive or result.

  2. transitive

    To conclude, complete, or finish (something).

  3. transitivefigurativelyby extension

    To upset; to anger or distress.

  4. transitivefigurativelyby extension

    To tighten (someone or something) by winding or twisting.

  5. transitivefigurativelyby extension

    To excite.

  6. intransitive

    To increase (in some aspect).

noun

  1. The end or conclusion of something.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (intransitive, copulative) To end up; to arrive or result.

Used this way, wind up 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
No strong connotation
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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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.