get wind of

Idioms

Learn of; hear a rumor about. For example, “If my old aunt gets wind of it, she'll cut me off with a shilling” (William Makepeace Thackeray, in Paris Sketch Book, 1840). This expression alludes to an animal perceiving a scent carried by the wind. [First half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

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get wind of

It was the one point the SBU worried most that the FSB might get wind of the operation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025

Investors use them to shadow chief executives to get wind of corporate mergers.

From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2022

But a dishonest former IRS agent and a thuggish Bahamian customs official get wind of it and hope to trick Doc into revealing the location of the rest of the treasure.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 12, 2020

They quickly get wind of a vague conspiracy.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 29, 2019

At the same time he sniffed, trying to get wind of the peanut butter at the end of the maze.

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

get wind of

Example Sentences

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