stem-winder

British

noun

Also called: stem-winding watch. a watch wound by an expanded crown on the bar projecting outside the case, as opposed to one wound by a separate key

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“The first EP was this whole story of giving birth to yourself, this giant stretched-out muse,” Isella said, leaning into a stem-winder about the genesis of art.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025

Last year, he hugged the American flag and launched into a stem-winder that lasted more than two hours.

From Washington Times • Feb. 29, 2020

Render gave a stem-winder that ended with a fiery call and response.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 30, 2019

About six hours later, though, after an irate stem-winder from Brett Kavanaugh that appeared to catch Judiciary Committee Democrats off-guard, Republicans felt back on track.

From Slate • Sep. 27, 2018

Some prodding and shoving with a pole in the grooves of the stem-winder made it turn round a dozen times.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

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