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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

wind.

Real or perceived movement of atmospheric air usually caused by convection or differences in air pressure.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈwɪnd/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈwaɪ̯nd/archaic
  1. Real or perceived movement of atmospheric air usually caused by convection or differences in air pressure.

    countable · uncountable
    The wind blew through her hair as she stood on the deck of the ship.
    As they accelerated onto the motorway, the wind tore the plywood off the car's roof-rack.
  2. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action.

    countable · uncountable
    the wind of a cannon ball
    the wind of a bellows
  3. The ability to breathe easily.

    countable · uncountable
    After the second lap he was already out of wind.
    The fall knocked the wind out of him.
  4. News of an event, especially by hearsay or gossip.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
    to catch wind of something
    Steve caught wind of Martha's dalliance with his best friend.
  5. A tendency or trend.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
    the wind of change
  6. One of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans; air.

    countable · uncountable
  7. One of the five basic elements in Indian and Japanese models of the Classical elements.

    countable · uncountable
  8. Flatus.

    colloquial · uncountable
    to pass wind
  9. Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument.

    countable · uncountable
  10. The woodwind section of an orchestra. Occasionally also used to include the brass section.

    countable · uncountable
  11. A woodwind instrument. Occasionally also used to describe a brass instrument.

    countable · uncountable
  12. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points.

    countable · uncountable
    the four winds
  13. Types of playing-tile in the game of mah-jongg, named after the four winds.

    countable · uncountable
  14. A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing.

    countable · uncountable
  15. Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
  16. A bird, the dotterel.

    countable · uncountable
  17. The region of the solar plexus, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury.

    countable · slang · uncountable
  18. (usually as the wind) Something irrelevant; something that can be explained away.

    countable · ironic · slang · uncountable
    I don't know, man, must've been the wind.
  19. Ellipsis of wind power (“source of electricity”)

    abbreviation · alt-of · countable · ellipsis · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English wynd, wind, from Old English wind (“wind”), from Proto-West Germanic *wind, from Proto-Germanic *windaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥tos (“wind”), from earlier *h₂wéh₁n̥ts (“wind”), derived from the present participle of *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates Cognate with Yola weend, wyeene (“wind”), North Frisian win, winj (“wind”), Saterland Frisian Wíend (“wind”), West Frisian wyn (“wind”), Alemannic German wend, wind, winn, wénn (“wind”), Bavarian bint, Wind (“wind”), Cimbrian and Mòcheno bint (“wind”), Dutch wind (“wind”), German and German Low German Wind (“wind”), Luxembourgish Wand (“wind”), Yiddish ווינט (vint, “wind”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish vind (“wind”), Faroese and Icelandic vindur (“wind”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌳𐍃 (winds, “wind”), Latin ventus (“wind”), Welsh gwynt (“wind”), Sanskrit वात (vā́ta, “wind”), Russian ве́тер (véter, “wind”), perhaps Albanian bundë (“strong damp wind”). Doublet of athlete, vent, weather and nirvana.

verb/ˈwɪnd/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈwaɪ̯nd/archaic
  1. To blow air through a wind instrument or horn to make a sound.

    transitive
  2. To cause (someone) to become breathless, as by a blow to the abdomen, or by physical exertion, running, etc.

    transitive
    The boxer was winded during round two.
  3. To cause a baby to bring up wind by patting its back after being fed.

    UK · transitive
  4. To turn a boat or ship around, so that the wind strikes it on the opposite side.

    UK · transitive
  5. To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate.

    transitive
  6. To perceive or follow by scent.

    transitive
    The hounds winded the game.
  7. To rest (a horse, etc.) in order to allow the breath to be recovered; to breathe.

    transitive
  8. To turn a windmill so that its sails face into the wind.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English wynd, wind, from Old English wind (“wind”), from Proto-West Germanic *wind, from Proto-Germanic *windaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥tos (“wind”), from earlier *h₂wéh₁n̥ts (“wind”), derived from the present participle of *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates Cognate with Yola weend, wyeene (“wind”), North Frisian win, winj (“wind”), Saterland Frisian Wíend (“wind”), West Frisian wyn (“wind”), Alemannic German wend, wind, winn, wénn (“wind”), Bavarian bint, Wind (“wind”), Cimbrian and Mòcheno bint (“wind”), Dutch wind (“wind”), German and German Low German Wind (“wind”), Luxembourgish Wand (“wind”), Yiddish ווינט (vint, “wind”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish vind (“wind”), Faroese and Icelandic vindur (“wind”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌳𐍃 (winds, “wind”), Latin ventus (“wind”), Welsh gwynt (“wind”), Sanskrit वात (vā́ta, “wind”), Russian ве́тер (véter, “wind”), perhaps Albanian bundë (“strong damp wind”). Doublet of athlete, vent, weather and nirvana.

verb/waɪnd//wɑjnd/British, Southern, Standard
  1. To turn coils (of a cord or something similar) around something.

    transitive
    to wind thread on a spool or into a ball
  2. To tighten the spring of a clockwork mechanism.

    transitive
    Please wind that old-fashioned alarm clock.
  3. To entwist; to enfold; to encircle.

    transitive
  4. To travel or follow a path with numerous curves.

    intransitive
    Vines wind round a pole.  The river winds through the plain.
  5. To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter at will; to regulate; to govern.

    transitive
  6. To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate.

    transitive
  7. To cover or surround with something coiled about.

    transitive
    to wind a rope with twine
  8. To cause to move by exerting a winding force; to haul or hoist as by a winch.

    transitive
  9. To turn (a ship) around, end for end.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English wynden, from Old English windan, from Proto-Germanic *windaną. Compare West Frisian wine, Low German winden, Dutch winden, German winden, Danish vinde, Walloon windea. See also the related term wend.

noun/waɪnd//wɑjnd/British, Southern, Standard
  1. The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English wynden, from Old English windan, from Proto-Germanic *windaną. Compare West Frisian wine, Low German winden, Dutch winden, German winden, Danish vinde, Walloon windea. See also the related term wend.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.