wound

¹ American  

[woond, wound] / wund, waʊnd /

noun

1. an injury, usually involving division of tissue or rupture of the integument or mucous membrane, due to external violence or some mechanical agency rather than disease.

   Synonyms:

   trauma, lesion, laceration, stab, cut

2. a similar injury to the tissue of a plant.

3. an injury or hurt to feelings, sensibilities, reputation, etc.

   Synonyms:

   anguish, pain, insult

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verb (used with object)

1. to inflict a wound upon; injure; hurt.

   Synonyms:

   lacerate, stab, cut, damage, harm

verb (used without object)

1. to inflict a wound.

idioms

1. lick one's wounds, to attempt to heal one's injuries or soothe one's hurt feelings after a defeat.

wound ² American  

[wound] / waʊnd /

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of wind and wind.

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wound ¹ British  

/ wuːnd /

noun

1. any break in the skin or an organ or part as the result of violence or a surgical incision

2. an injury to plant tissue

3. any injury or slight to the feelings or reputation

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verb

1. to inflict a wound or wounds upon (someone or something)

wound ² British  

/ waʊnd /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of wind 2

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wound More Idioms  

1. see lick one's wounds; rub in (salt into a wound).

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Synonym Usage

See injury.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• woundless
  adjective
• woundedly
  adverb
• woundable
  adjective
• wounding
  adjective
• wounder
  noun
• woundingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of wound

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English wund; cognate with Old High German wunta ( German Wunde ), Old Norse und, Gothic wunds; (verb) Middle English wounden, Old English wundian, derivative of the noun

Explanation

A wound is a serious injury, especially a deep cut through the skin. But things like pride and feelings can also get wounded. Wounds are serious: we're talking a lot worse than just a scrape or booboo. Just about all the meanings of this word have to do with being hurt. If you got stabbed, you got a stab wound. Soldiers in battle get a lot of wounds from enemies. If someone told you to shut up, they might wound your feelings. If you slipped in a puddle in front of your friends, that might wound your pride.

Example Sentences

They eventually found a first aid kit to treat his open wound, but there was only a single bandage.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

A hot-strip mill flattens thick slabs of heated steel into long, thin ribbons of sheet steel that are wound into coils and shipped to customers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Speaking to reporters on the flight to Madrid on Saturday, the 70-year-old leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics said the scandal of abuse was "still an open wound" for the Church.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

“Another Dimension” is his answer to the years of rejection, pain and incandescent ire, but transmuted into a vibrant, avant-garde, genre-defying gaping wound found within 11 tight tracks.

From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026

Now it took more than an hour just to stroll the short, level trail that wound along the riverbank from their campsite to the lake.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

Related Words

• bruise
• cut
• damage
• grief
• laceration
• lesion
• pain
• shock
• trauma