# wind up

Pronunciation: say "wynd-UP" /waɪnd ˈʌp/

## Phrasal verb

1. To end up somewhere or in some state; to arrive at a final place or result.
   - Simple: To be in a place or situation at the end of something.
   - _If you keep spending like that, you'll wind up broke by the end of the year._
   - _We took a wrong turn and wound up in a tiny village two hours from home._
2. To bring something to an end.
   - Simple: To finish something or bring it to an end.
   - _The chair wound up the meeting with a short thank-you to the volunteers._
   - _Let's wind things up by noon so everyone can get lunch._
3. To wind the spring or other energy-storing mechanism of a clock, watch or similar device so that it runs again or keeps running.
   - Simple: To turn a key or knob on a clock, watch, or toy so it keeps working.
   - _Every Sunday night, Grandpa wound up the old clock in the hall._
   - _Don't forget to wind up your watch, or it will stop by morning._
4. To excite someone, stirring them up.
   - Simple: To make someone excited.
   - _Don't wind the kids up with sweets right before bedtime._
   - _A pep rally is meant to wind up the team before a big game._
5. To upset someone; to make them angry or distressed.
   - Simple: To make someone angry or upset.
   - _Nothing winds him up more than people who talk during movies._
   - _Losing to a late penalty seemed to wind up the coach more than anything else._
7. To raise something, such as a car window or a well bucket, by turning a crank.
   - Simple: To raise something, like a car window, by turning a handle.
   - _Wind your window up, or the dust from the road will blow in._
   - _She slowly wound up the bucket from the bottom of the old well._
8. To wind something such as rope, string or a mainspring completely.
   - Simple: To wind something, like rope or string, all the way.
   - _After the race, we wound up all the loose lines and stowed them below deck._
   - _Wind the kite string up before it gets tangled in the trees._
10. To go through the preparatory movements before throwing a certain kind of pitch.
   - Simple: In baseball, to move your arm and body back to get ready to throw a certain kind of pitch.
   - _Some relievers never wind up, pitching from the stretch even with the bases empty._
   - _Runners can steal more easily when a pitcher winds up for every pitch._
11. To play a prank on someone, or to tease or mock them. *(British)*
   - Simple: To play a trick on someone or make fun of them.
   - _The lads in the office kept winding him up about his new haircut._
   - _He likes to wind up the new trainees with stories about a ghost in the stockroom._
14. To bring a partnership or corporation to an end by dissolving it and liquidating its assets.
   - Simple: To close down a business for good and sell everything it owns.
   - _Creditors petitioned the court to wind up the insolvent firm._
   - _After the founders retired, the partnership was wound up and its property sold._
15. To make someone or something tight or tense, as if by winding or twisting.
   - Simple: To make someone or something tight or tense, like a spring that is turned tighter.
   - _Weeks of rehearsals had wound the cast up like a clock spring._
   - _Good thrillers wind up their readers chapter by chapter, tightening the suspense._
16. To increase in some respect, such as speed.
   - Simple: To grow or go up in some way, such as getting faster.
   - _The turbines took several minutes to wind up to full power._
   - _The machine's whine wound up higher and higher as it gathered speed._

## Adjective · wind-up

Pronunciation: say "WYND-up" /ˈwaɪnd ʌp/

6. Of a machine or device, needing to be wound up in order to work.
   - Simple: Describing a toy or machine that you have to wind up to make it work.
   - _The museum displays a row of wind-up tin robots in a glass case._
   - _During the blackout we listened to the news on a wind-up radio._

## Noun · wind-up

Pronunciation: say "WYND-up" /ˈwaɪnd ʌp/

9. In baseball, the part of a pitch in which the pitcher swings the arm back before throwing the ball.
   - Simple: In baseball, the moment when the pitcher pulls the arm back before throwing.
   - _The rookie's high-kicking wind-up made it hard for batters to time his fastball._
   - _Coaches spent the spring smoothing out the young pitcher's wind-up._
12. A practical joke in which someone is led, for fun, to believe something untrue. *(British)*
   - Simple: A joke where you try to make someone believe something that is not true.
   - _The radio station's April Fool's wind-up had listeners believing the clocks would change twice._
   - _When his mates swore the pub had been bought by a famous footballer, he laughed it off as another wind-up._
13. The final stage or conclusion of something.
   - Simple: The last part or end of something.
   - _The wind-up of the festival featured fireworks over the harbor._
   - _The novel's wind-up ties every loose thread a little too neatly._
17. A circular hand signal, said to imitate the winding on of film, that tells a performer to finish quickly.
   - Simple: A sign made by moving a hand in circles, telling a person on TV to finish quickly.
   - _The floor manager gave a frantic wind-up as the interview ran into the news bulletin._
   - _Ignoring the producer's wind-up, the guest kept talking until the credits rolled._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The punch line of a joke or comedy routine.

## Origin

A deverbal formation from the verb wind up.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/wind-up (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).