windward
adjective · noun · adverb
Simple meaning
Towards the wind, or the direction from which the wind is blowing.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
windwerdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwɪndwɚd
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.
adjective
Towards the wind, or the direction from which the wind is blowing.
On the side exposed to the wind
figurative
In a position of advantage or superiority.
noun
The direction from which the wind is coming
“The sailors kept a careful watch on the dark clouds to windward.”
The direction from which the wind blows.
The side of something that is toward the wind
The side receiving the wind's force.
adverb
In a direction from which the wind blows, against or towards the wind.
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: Towards the wind, or the direction from which the wind is blowing.
Used this way, windward 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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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A group of islands in the southeastern West Indies.
A group of islands in the southeastern West Indies.
A channel between eastern Cuba and western Haiti that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Caribbean Sea.
The side toward the wind.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: towards the wind
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.