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winding.

gerund of wind

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈwɪndɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. gerund of wind The act of winnowing (“subjecting food grain to a current of air to separate the grain from the chaff”).

    attributive · countable · uncountable
  2. gerund of wind The act of blowing air through a wind instrument or (chiefly) a horn to make a sound.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“act of exposing something to the wind, airing, ventilating; act of winnowing (?)”), from winden, wynden (“to expose (something) to the air or wind, ventilate; to cause (someone) to be out of breath; to winnow (wheat); of an animal: to catch the scent of (someone or something)”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs). The adjective is derived from the verb. The English word is analysable as wind (“to blow air through (a wind instrument or horn) to make a sound; to cause (someone) to become breathless; to winnow (food grain), etc.”) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).

noun/ˈwaɪndɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. gerund of wind The act of twisting something, or coiling or wrapping something around another thing.

    countable · uncountable
  2. gerund of wind A curving, sinuous, or twisting movement; twists and turns.

    countable · especially · in-plural · uncountable
  3. gerund of wind A curving, sinuous, or twisting form.

    countable · especially · in-plural · uncountable
  4. gerund of wind Chiefly followed by up: the act of tightening the spring of a clockwork or other mechanism.

    countable · uncountable
  5. gerund of wind Sometimes followed by up: the act of hoisting something using a winch or a similar device.

    countable · uncountable
  6. gerund of wind Twists and turns in an occurrence, in thinking, or some other thing; also, moral crookedness; craftiness, shiftiness.

    countable · figuratively · in-plural · uncountable
  7. gerund of wind The act or process of turning a boat or ship in a certain direction.

    UK · countable · uncountable
  8. gerund of wind A variation in a tune.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  9. Something wound around another thing.

    countable · uncountable
  10. Something wound around another thing. A length of wire wound around the armature of an electric motor or the core of an electrical transformer.

    countable · uncountable
  11. Something wound around another thing. Synonym of lapping (“lengths of fine silk, metal wire, or whalebone wrapped tightly around the stick of the bow of a string instrument adjacent to the leather part of the bow grip at the heel”).

    countable · uncountable
  12. Something wound around another thing. A decorative object, design, or other thing with curves or twists.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  13. Something wound around another thing. Synonym of withe or withy (“a flexible, slender shoot or twig, especially when used as a band or for binding”); also, all the withies used to make or repair a wall, or the process of using withies in this manner.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“directional change, curve, turn; bend of the leg at the knee; meandering course of a river; act of turning and twisting; twisting of things (especially thread) together; wrapping of a cloth around something; wattling of a structure; wattle(s); ornamentation with interwoven patterns; hoisting of something”) [and other forms], and then partly: * from winden, wynden (“to go, move; to move forcefully or suddenly; to direct, guide, lead; to go along a meandering or twisting course; to move in a circular pattern, revolve, turn; to move restlessly, toss and turn; to wriggle free; to move with a turning or twisting motion, bend, turn, twist; to form or mould (something) in one’s hands; to mix together; to cover; to clothe, dress; to wrap (a baby, a corpse, etc.); to encircle, surround; to bind; to interlace; to winch; (figurative) to conceal, disguise; to embroil, involve”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs).; and * from Old English windung (“woven object”), from windan (“to twist, wind; to circle, curl, eddy, spiral”) (from Proto-Germanic *windaną (“to wind; to wrap”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn; to wind”)) + -ung (suffix forming nouns denoting a verbal action or something involved in a verbal action). The adjective is derived from the verb. The English word is analysable as wind (“to turn coils of (a cord, etc.) around something; to encircle, enfold, entwist, wrap; to travel in a way that is not straight”) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).

adj/ˈwɪndɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. Causing one to be breathless or out of breath.

    not-comparable · usually
  2. Of a horn or wind instrument: blown to make a sound.

    not-comparable · usually
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“act of exposing something to the wind, airing, ventilating; act of winnowing (?)”), from winden, wynden (“to expose (something) to the air or wind, ventilate; to cause (someone) to be out of breath; to winnow (wheat); of an animal: to catch the scent of (someone or something)”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs). The adjective is derived from the verb. The English word is analysable as wind (“to blow air through (a wind instrument or horn) to make a sound; to cause (someone) to become breathless; to winnow (food grain), etc.”) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).

adj/ˈwaɪndɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. Moving in a sinuous or twisting manner.

  2. Sinuous, turning, or twisting in form.

  3. Sinuous, turning, or twisting in form. Chiefly of a staircase: helical, spiral.

  4. Of speech, writing, etc.: not direct or to the point; rambling, roundabout.

    figuratively
  5. Flexible, pliant.

    obsolete
  6. Morally crooked; crafty, shifty.

    figuratively · obsolete
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“directional change, curve, turn; bend of the leg at the knee; meandering course of a river; act of turning and twisting; twisting of things (especially thread) together; wrapping of a cloth around something; wattling of a structure; wattle(s); ornamentation with interwoven patterns; hoisting of something”) [and other forms], and then partly: * from winden, wynden (“to go, move; to move forcefully or suddenly; to direct, guide, lead; to go along a meandering or twisting course; to move in a circular pattern, revolve, turn; to move restlessly, toss and turn; to wriggle free; to move with a turning or twisting motion, bend, turn, twist; to form or mould (something) in one’s hands; to mix together; to cover; to clothe, dress; to wrap (a baby, a corpse, etc.); to encircle, surround; to bind; to interlace; to winch; (figurative) to conceal, disguise; to embroil, involve”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs).; and * from Old English windung (“woven object”), from windan (“to twist, wind; to circle, curl, eddy, spiral”) (from Proto-Germanic *windaną (“to wind; to wrap”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn; to wind”)) + -ung (suffix forming nouns denoting a verbal action or something involved in a verbal action). The adjective is derived from the verb. The English word is analysable as wind (“to turn coils of (a cord, etc.) around something; to encircle, enfold, entwist, wrap; to travel in a way that is not straight”) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).

verb/ˈwɪndɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. present participle and gerund of wind

    form-of · gerund · participle · present
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“act of exposing something to the wind, airing, ventilating; act of winnowing (?)”), from winden, wynden (“to expose (something) to the air or wind, ventilate; to cause (someone) to be out of breath; to winnow (wheat); of an animal: to catch the scent of (someone or something)”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs). The adjective is derived from the verb. The English word is analysable as wind (“to blow air through (a wind instrument or horn) to make a sound; to cause (someone) to become breathless; to winnow (food grain), etc.”) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).

verb/ˈwaɪndɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. present participle and gerund of wind

    form-of · gerund · participle · present
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“directional change, curve, turn; bend of the leg at the knee; meandering course of a river; act of turning and twisting; twisting of things (especially thread) together; wrapping of a cloth around something; wattling of a structure; wattle(s); ornamentation with interwoven patterns; hoisting of something”) [and other forms], and then partly: * from winden, wynden (“to go, move; to move forcefully or suddenly; to direct, guide, lead; to go along a meandering or twisting course; to move in a circular pattern, revolve, turn; to move restlessly, toss and turn; to wriggle free; to move with a turning or twisting motion, bend, turn, twist; to form or mould (something) in one’s hands; to mix together; to cover; to clothe, dress; to wrap (a baby, a corpse, etc.); to encircle, surround; to bind; to interlace; to winch; (figurative) to conceal, disguise; to embroil, involve”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs).; and * from Old English windung (“woven object”), from windan (“to twist, wind; to circle, curl, eddy, spiral”) (from Proto-Germanic *windaną (“to wind; to wrap”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn; to wind”)) + -ung (suffix forming nouns denoting a verbal action or something involved in a verbal action). The adjective is derived from the verb. The English word is analysable as wind (“to turn coils of (a cord, etc.) around something; to encircle, enfold, entwist, wrap; to travel in a way that is not straight”) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).

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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.