windlass
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:
windluhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwɪndləs
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
Any of various forms of winch, in which a rope or cable is wound around a cylinder, used for lifting heavy weights
A winding and circuitous way; a roundabout course.
An apparatus resembling a winch or windlass, for bending the bow of an arblast, or crossbow.
verb
To take a roundabout course; to work warily or by indirect means.
To raise with, or as if with, a windlass; to use a windlass.
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, windlass 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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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.