# winding

Pronunciation: say "WYN-ding" /ˈwaɪndɪŋ/

## Adjective

1. Bending, turning, or twisting in shape rather than running straight.
   - Simple: Having many bends, twists, or curves in its shape.
   - _They drove for hours along a winding coastal highway._
   - _A narrow, winding path led through the dense forest._
2. Moving in a sinuous, twisting way as it goes forward.
   - Simple: Moving along in twists and turns instead of a straight line.
   - _A winding column of marchers made its way down the avenue._
   - _We watched the winding stream of refugees crossing toward the border._
3. Of a staircase, built in a spiral or helical shape, curving around as it climbs.
   - Simple: Used about stairs that curl around in a spiral as they go up.
   - _The lighthouse had a tight winding staircase of iron steps._
   - _She paused halfway up the winding stair to catch her breath._
12. Of speech or writing, meandering and indirect rather than getting to the point.
   - Simple: Used about speech or writing that goes on and on without getting to the point.
   - _The witness gave a winding account that the lawyer struggled to follow._
   - _Readers gave up on the novel's winding, digressive opening chapter._
15. Causing a person to become breathless or short of breath. (pronounced: say "WIN-ding" /ˈwɪndɪŋ/)
   - Simple: Making someone breathless or out of breath.
   - _The winding blow to his stomach left him doubled over and gasping._
   - _She took a winding fall that knocked the air clean from her lungs._
17. Of a horn or wind instrument: blown in order to produce a sound. (pronounced: say "WIN-ding" /ˈwɪndɪŋ/)
   - Simple: Blown to make a sound, said of a horn or other wind instrument.
   - _The winding horn of the chase carried farther than any voice could._
   - _He kept a winding trumpet for signaling the watch at dawn._

## Noun

4. The act of twisting a thing, or of passing it around another object in coils or loops, as with thread or rope.
   - Simple: The act of twisting or wrapping one thing around another.
   - _The careful winding of thread onto the loom prevented any tangles._
   - _The winding of the rope around the post secured the boat for the night._
5. A curving, sinuous, or twisting movement; the twists and turns of a path or course.
   - Simple: A twisting, curving movement full of twists and turns.
   - _The endless winding of the trail down into the gorge tested our patience._
   - _Her thoughts followed the lazy winding of the creek below the porch._
6. The act of tightening the mainspring of a clock or other clockwork mechanism, often expressed as winding up.
   - Simple: The act of tightening the spring inside a clock or wind-up toy.
   - _Forgetting the nightly winding of the watch left it dead by morning._
   - _The grandfather clock needed a careful winding once every week._
7. A length of material that has been coiled or wrapped around something else.
   - Simple: Something wrapped or coiled around another thing.
   - _A thick winding of twine held the parcel firmly together._
   - _The fisherman checked the winding of line on his reel before casting._
8. A length of wire coiled about a transformer's core or an electric motor's armature.
   - Simple: A coil of wire wrapped around the inside part of a motor or transformer.
   - _The motor's primary winding overheated and burned out under the load._
   - _Technicians rewound the transformer's secondary winding entirely by hand._
10. The curving, sinuous, or twisting shape of something.
   - Simple: A twisting, curving shape.
   - _From the air, the winding of the canyon looked like a giant scar._
   - _The sculptor admired the smooth winding of the carved vine._
11. The act of hoisting something using a winch or a similar device.
   - Simple: The act of lifting something using a winch or a crank.
   - _The winding of the anchor chain strained the old ship's winch._
   - _Miners relied on the steady winding of the cage up the deep shaft._
13. Twists and turns in an event, in one's thinking, or in something else; also moral crookedness, craftiness, or shiftiness.
   - Simple: Twists and turns in a story or in someone's thoughts, or sneaky and dishonest behavior.
   - _The winding of the plot kept readers guessing until the final chapter._
   - _His colleagues grew wary of the winding behind his every promise._
14. The act of sounding a wind instrument, most often a horn, by blowing air through it. (pronounced: say "WIN-ding" /ˈwɪndɪŋ/)
   - Simple: Blowing air through a horn or other wind instrument to make a sound.
   - _A long winding of the trumpet signaled the start of the procession._
   - _The huntsman's winding of the horn echoed across the frosted valley._
16. The act of winnowing, in which grain is exposed to moving air so that the chaff is blown away from it. (pronounced: say "WIN-ding" /ˈwɪndɪŋ/)
   - Simple: The act of blowing air through grain to separate the good seeds from the waste.
   - _The winding of the threshed oats was best done on a breezy day._
   - _Farmhands managed the winding of the rye before it went to the granary._
18. The act or process of turning a boat or ship so that it faces a particular direction. *(British)*
   - Simple: Turning a boat or ship so that it faces a certain direction.
   - _The narrowboat crew reversed slowly, completing the winding before the lock._
   - _The lock-keeper watched the careful winding of the coal barge against the tide._
19. Lengths of fine silk, metal wire, or whalebone wrapped tightly around the stick of a string instrument's bow, next to the leather grip at the heel.
   - Simple: The thin silk or wire wrapped tightly around a violin bow near the grip.
   - _The winding just above the frog had loosened, so the bow needed attention._
   - _He admired the silver winding that wrapped the lower end of the antique bow._

## Verb

Pronunciation: say "WIN-ding" /ˈwɪndɪŋ/

9. Present participle of wind. — present participle and gerund of wind
   - Simple: Present participle of wind. Use this form for the ongoing action of twisting or coiling something.
   - _The river was winding slowly through the broad valley._
   - _She stood by the window winding thread onto a wooden spool._

## Adjective

20. Flexible and pliant; able to bend easily without breaking. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Easy to bend and not stiff.
21. Morally crooked in character; crafty and shifty. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Dishonest and sneaky in the way one acts.
   - _The pamphleteer denounced the steward as a winding schemer who served only himself._
   - _His winding excuses convinced no one at the parish meeting._

## Noun

22. A variation worked into a tune. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A change or twist added to a tune or melody.
23. An ornament, pattern, or other thing shaped with twists and curves. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A decorative object or design that has curves or twists.
   - _An elaborate winding of wrought iron framed the chapel doorway._
   - _Each panel bore a delicate winding of painted foliage._
24. A flexible, slender shoot or twig used as a band or for binding; also the twigs used to make or repair a wall, or the process of working them into place. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A bendy twig used for tying or binding, or the twigs used to build or fix a wall.

## Origin

**Meanings 9, 14–17** — The noun comes from Middle English winding, meaning the act of exposing something to the wind, airing, or winnowing, from the verb winden (to ventilate, to winnow, or to catch a scent) plus the suffix -ing. It is analysable as "wind" (to blow air) plus "-ing".
**Meanings 1–8, 10–13, 18–24** — The noun comes from Middle English winding, meaning a curve, turn, twisting, or wrapping, partly from the verb winden (to move in a twisting course, to bend, twist, or wrap) plus -ing, and partly from Old English windung (a woven object), from windan (to twist, wind, or curl). This traces back through Proto-Germanic *windaną to Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (to turn or wind).

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