Wind (disambiguation)

From Awe

There are two main groups of words spelled wind. These are homographs: they are written the same, but are pronounced differently, one rhyming with 'find' and the other rhyming with 'binned' and 'sinned' (and the first syllable of 'India' and 'Hindi'.

• The noun wind is normally pronounced like the first syllable in 'window': see also below. The general meaning of this word is 'air', particularly 'moving air'. Several senses have developed of this basic meaning. For more, see Wind (/wɪnd/) noun. (A few, rare, uses of this word as a verb exist.)
• The verb 'to wind' is pronounced to rhyme with 'find', 'lined' and 'signed'. It is an irregular verb, whose forms can be found at Wind (irregular verb). The general meaning is 'to move in a circle', 'to go round (repeatedly)' or 'to move in curves'. (It originally meant 'to move rapidly'; since then, it has occasionally been confused with 'to wend'.) This general meaning has developed in some particular directions. For more, see Wind (/waɪnd/ W-EYE-ND) verb. (A few, rare, uses of this word as a noun exist.)
  • To see the verb forms of this verb, go to Wind (irregular verb). There you may notice that the past form wound is another homograph: for more on this, see wound (homographs).

Do not confuse either wind with wined or whined.

Be aware that wind-up may also be pronounced in different ways, as there are versions derived from the two main groups of meanings. This is not true of wind down.

Several other more or less obsolete meanings are listed in OED. They are not covered in AWE.