wind

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Moving air, especially a natural and perceptible movement of air parallel to or along the ground.
2. n. A movement of air generated artificially, as by bellows or a fan.
3. n. The direction from which a movement of air comes: The wind is north-northwest.
4. n. A movement of air coming from one of the four cardinal points of the compass: the four winds.
5. n. Moving air carrying sound, an odor, or a scent.
6. n. Breath, especially normal or adequate breathing; respiration: had the wind knocked out of them.
7. n. Gas produced in the stomach or intestines during digestion; flatulence.
8. n. Music The brass and woodwinds sections of a band or orchestra. Often used in the plural.
9. n. Music Wind instruments or their players considered as a group. Often used in the plural.
10. n. Music Woodwinds. Often used in the plural.
11. n. Something that disrupts or destroys: the winds of war.
12. n. A tendency; a trend: the winds of change.
13. n. Information, especially of something concealed; intimation: Trouble will ensue if wind of this scandal gets out.
14. n. Speech or writing empty of meaning; verbiage: His remarks on the subject are nothing but wind.
15. n. Vain self-importance; pomposity: an expert who was full of wind even before becoming famous.
16. v. To expose to free movement of air; ventilate or dry.
17. v. To detect the smell of; catch a scent of.
18. v. To pursue by following a scent.
19. v. To cause to be out of or short of breath.
20. v. To afford a recovery of breath: stopped to wind and water the horses.
21. idiom. before the wind Nautical In the same direction as the wind.
22. idiom. close to the wind Nautical As close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing.
23. idiom. in the wind Likely to occur; in the offing: Big changes are in the wind.
24. idiom. near the wind Nautical Close to the wind.
25. idiom. near the wind Close to danger.
26. idiom. off the wind Nautical In a direction away from the wind.
27. idiom. on Nautical In the same or nearly the same direction as the wind.
28. idiom. take the wind out of (one's) sails To rob of an advantage; deflate.
29. idiom. under the wind Nautical To the leeward.
30. idiom. under the wind In a location protected from the wind.
31. idiom. up the wind Nautical In a direction opposite or nearly opposite the wind.
32. v. To wrap (something) around a center or another object once or repeatedly: wind string around a spool.
33. v. To wrap or encircle (an object) in a series of coils; entwine: wound her injured leg with a bandage; wound the waist of the gown with lace and ribbons.
34. v. To go along (a curving or twisting course): wind a path through the mountains.
35. v. To proceed on (one's way) with a curving or twisting course.
36. v. To introduce in a disguised or devious manner; insinuate: He wound a plea for money into his letter.
37. v. To turn (a crank, for example) in a series of circular motions.
38. v. To coil the spring of (a mechanism) by turning a stem or cord, for example: wind a watch.
39. v. To coil (thread, for example), as onto a spool or into a ball.
40. v. To remove or unwind (thread, for example), as from a spool: wound the line off the reel.
41. v. To lift or haul by means of a windlass or winch: Wind the pail to the top of the well.
42. v. To move in or have a curving or twisting course: a river winding through a valley.
43. v. To move in or have a spiral or circular course: a column of smoke winding into the sky.
44. v. To be coiled or spiraled: The vine wound about the trellis.
45. v. To be twisted or whorled into curved forms.
46. v. To proceed misleadingly or insidiously in discourse or conduct.
47. v. To become wound: a clock that winds with difficulty.
48. n. The act of winding.
49. n. A single turn, twist, or curve.
50. wind down Informal To diminish gradually in energy, intensity, or scope: The party wound down as guests began to leave.
51. wind down Informal To relax; unwind.
52. wind up To come or bring to a finish; end: when the meeting wound up; wind up a project.
53. wind up To put in order; settle: wound up her affairs before leaving the country.
54. wind up Informal To arrive in a place or situation after or because of a course of action: took a long walk and wound up at the edge of town; overspent and wound up in debt.
55. wind up Baseball To swing back the arm and raise the foot in preparation for pitching the ball.
56. v. Music To blow (a wind instrument).
57. v. Music To sound by blowing.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To move in this direction and in that; change direction; vary from the direct line or course; bend; turn; double.
2. To go in a crooked or devious course; meander: as, the stream winds through the val ley; the road winds round the hill.
3. To make an indirect advance; “fetch a compass”; “beat about the bush.”
4. To twine; entwine one's self or itself round something: as, vines wind round the pole.
5. To twist one's self or worm one's way into or out of something.
6. To turn or toss about; twist; squirm.
7. To have a twist or an uneven surface, or a surface whose parts do not lie in the same plane, as a piece of wood.
8. To return.
9. To cause to move in this direction and in that; turn.
10. To bend or turn at will; direct according to one's pleasure; vary the course or direction of; hence, to exercise complete control over.
11. To turn or twist round and round on some thing; place or arrange in more or less regular coils or convolutions on something (such as a reel, spool, or bobbin) which is turned round and round; form into a ball, hank, or the like by turning that on which successive coils are placed, or by carrying the coils round it: as, to wind yarn or thread.
12. To form by twisting or twining; weave; fabricate.
13. To place in folds, or otherwise dispose on or around something; bind; twist; wrap.
14. To entwist; infold; encircle: literally or figuratively.
15. To haul or hoist by or as by a winch, whim, capstan, or the like: as, to wind or warp a ship out of harbor; specifically, in mining, to raise (the produce of the mine) to the surface by means of a winding-engine; hoist. The term wind, as well as draw, is often employed in Great Britain, while hoist is generally used in the United States. In the early days of mining, ore and coal were almost exclusively raised by hand-, horse-, or steam-power, in buckets or kib bles; at the present time, in both England and the United States, this is done by means of a winding-engine which turns a drum on which a rope (generally of steel wire) is wound and unwound, and by means of which a cage (see cage, 3 ) is raised or lowered, on which the loaded cars are lifted to the surface, and the empties returned to the pit-bottom. The dimensions of engines, drums, and cages in large mines are sometimes very great, as is also the velocity with which the machinery is moved. Thus, in the Monkwearmouth colliery, Durham, England, the wind ing-drums are 25 feet in diameter, the rope weighs 4½ tons, the cage and load 7½ tons; the vertical distance through which the cage is raised is 580 yards, and the time occupied in lifting it and discharging the cars is two minutes and four seconds.
16. To insinuate; work or introduce insidiously or stealthily; worm.
17. To contrive by resort to shifts and expedients (to effect something); bring; procure or get by devious ways.
18. To circulate; put or keep in circulation.
19. To adjust or dispose for work or motion by coiling a spring more tightly or otherwise turning some mechanical device: as, to wind a clock or a watch. See to wind up , below.
20. Hence— To bring to a final disposition or conclusion; finish; arrange and adjust for final settlement, as the affairs of a company or partner ship on its dissolution.
21. To tighten, as the strings of certain musical instru ments, so as to bring them to the proper pitch; put in tune by stretching the strings over the pegs.
22. Hence, figuratively
23. To restore to harmony or con cord; bring to a natural or healthy condition.
24. To bring to a state of great tension; subject to a severe strain or excitement; put upon the stretch.
25. To bring into a state of renewed or continued motion, as a watch or clock, by coiling anew the spring or drawing up the weights.
26. Hence, figuratively
27. To prepare for continued movement, action, or activity; arrange or adapt for continued operation; give fresh or continued activity or energy to; restore to original vigor or order.
28. To hoist; draw; raise by or as by a winch.
29. n. A winding; a turn; a bend: as, the road there takes a wind to the south.
30. n. Air naturally in motion at the earth's surface with any degree of velocity; a current of air as coming from a particular direction. When the air has only a slight motion, it is called a breeze; when its velocity is greater, a fresh breeze; and when it is violent, a gale, storm, or hurricane. The ultimate cause of winds is to be found in differences of atmospheric density produced by the sun in its unequal heating of different parts of the earth. These original differences of densitygive rise to vertical and horizontal currents of air which constitute and establish the general atmospheric circulation, and determine permanent belts of relatively high and low pressure over the earth's surface. Differences of pres sure, in turn, produce their own differences of density at the earth's surface, and thereby become a secondary cause of winds. The general system of atmospheric circulation, with respect both to surface-winds and to their correlative upper currents, is described under trade-wind. In accordance with the character of their exciting cause, winds may be divided into
31. n. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass, especially one of the cardinal points.
32. n. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action: as, the wind of a bellows; the wind of a bullet, or a cannon-ball (see windage).
33. n. Air impregnated with animal odor or scent.
34. n. In musical instruments the sound of which is produced by a stream of compressed air or breath, either the supply of air under compres sion, as in the bellows of an organ orin a singer's lungs, or the stream of air used in sound-pro duction, as in the mouth of an organ-pipe, in the tube of a flageolet, or in the voice.
35. n. Breath; also, power of respiration; lungpower. See second wind, below.
36. n. The part of the body in the region of the stomach, a blow upon which causes a temporary loss of respiratory power by paralyzing the diaphragm for a time. It forms a forbidden point of attack in scientific boxing.
37. n. The wind-instruments of an orchestra taken collectively, including both the wood wind (flutes, oboes, etc.) and the brass wind (trumpets, horns, etc.).
38. n. Anything light as wind, and hence ineffectual or empty; especially, idle words, threats, bombast, etc.
39. n. Air or gas generated in the stomach and bowels; flatulence.
40. n. A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing.
41. n. Hence, figuratively
42. n. Any part or point generally where a blow or attack will most effectually injure.
43. n. Toward ruin, decay, or adversity. Compare to whistle off, under whistle, v. t.
44. n. Figuratively, the position or state of affairs; how matters stand at a particular juncture: as, trifies show how the wind blows.
45. n. Thras. I am come to intreat you to stand my friend, and to favour me with a longer time, and I wil make you sufficient consideration.
46. n. To border closely upon dishonesty or indecency: as, beware in dealing with him, he sails rather close to the wind.
47. n. See sail.
48. n. Synonyms Wind, Breeze, Gust, Flaw, Blast, Storm, Squall, Gale, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado, Cyclone, etc. Wind is the general name for air in motion, at any rate of speed. A breeze is gentle and may be fitful; a gust is pretty strong, but especially sudden and brief; a flaw is essentially the same as gust, but may rise to the force of a squall; a blast is stronger and longer than a. gust; a storm is a violent disturbance of the atmosphere, generally attended by rain, hail, orsnow; a squall is a storm that begins suddenly and is soon over, perhaps consisting of a series of strong gusts; a gale is a violent and continued wind, lasting for hours or days, its strength being marked by such adjectives as stiff and hard; a tempest is the stage between a gale and a hurricane—hurricane being the name for the wind at its greatest height, which is such as to destroy buildings, uproot trees, etc. A tornado and a cyclone are by derivation storms in which the wind has a circular or rotatory movement (see defs.).
49. To force wind through with the breath; blow; sound by blowing: as, to wind a horn: in this sense and the three following pronounced wīnd.
50. To produce (sound) by blowing through or as through a wind-instrument.
51. To announce, signal, or direct by the blast of a horn, etc.
52. To perceive or follow by the wind or scent; nose.
53. To expose to the wind; winnow; ventilate.
54. To drive or ride hard, as a horse, so as to render scant of wind.
55. To rest, as a horse, in order to let him recover wind.

Wiktionary

1. n. countable, uncountable Real or perceived movement of atmospheric air usually caused by convection or differences in air pressure.
2. n. countable, uncountable The ability to exert oneself without feeling short of breath.
3. n. India and Japan One of the five basic elements (see Wikipedia article on the Classical elements).
4. n. uncountable, colloquial Flatus.
5. v. transitive To blow air through a wind instrument or horn to make a sound.
6. v. transitive To cause (someone) to become breathless, often by a blow to the abdomen.
7. v. reflexive To exhaust oneself to the point of being short of breath.
8. v. transitive To turn coils of (a cord or something similar) around something.
9. v. transitive To tighten the spring of the clockwork mechanism such as that of a clock.
10. v. ergative To travel, or to cause something to travel, in a way that is not straight.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To turn completely, or with repeated turns; especially, to turn about something fixed; to cause to form convolutions about anything; to coil; to twine; to twist; to wreathe.
2. v. To entwist; to infold; to encircle.
3. v. To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter or will; to regulate; to govern.
4. v. To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate.
5. v. To cover or surround with something coiled about.
6. v. To turn completely or repeatedly; to become coiled about anything; to assume a convolved or spiral form.
7. v. To have a circular course or direction; to crook; to bend; to meander.
8. v. To go to the one side or the other; to move this way and that; to double on one's course.
9. n. The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist; a winding.
10. n. Air naturally in motion with any degree of velocity; a current of air.
11. n. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action
12. n. Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument.
13. n. Power of respiration; breath.
14. n. Air or gas generated in the stomach or bowels; flatulence.
15. n. Air impregnated with an odor or scent.
16. n. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points, which are often called the four winds.
17. n. (Far.) A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing.
18. n. Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words.
19. n. (Zoöl.), Prov. Eng. The dotterel.
20. n. (Boxing), Slang or Cant The region of the pit of the stomach, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury; the mark.
21. v. To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate.
22. v. To perceive or follow by the scent; to scent; to nose.
23. v. To drive hard, or force to violent exertion, as a horse, so as to render scant of wind; to put out of breath.
24. v. To rest, as a horse, in order to allow the breath to be recovered; to breathe.
25. v. To blow; to sound by blowing; esp., to sound with prolonged and mutually involved notes.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
2. v. form into a wreath
3. v. extend in curves and turns
4. v. coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem
5. n. air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
6. n. the act of winding or twisting
7. v. to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
8. v. arrange or or coil around
9. n. empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk
10. n. an indication of potential opportunity
11. n. a tendency or force that influences events
12. n. a reflex that expels intestinal gas through the anus
13. n. breath.
14. v. catch the scent of; get wind of
15. n. a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by an enclosed column of air that is moved by the breath