wound

¹ American  

[woond, wound] / wund, waʊnd /

noun

• wounds
  plural

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

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wounds
  plural

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

See Examples For:

wound wounds

"We have to remove the band-aid and then look at the sore, the gaping wound that's present," Asare says about what he sees as real "reparations".

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

After heading that summer to San Francisco to intern at a Y-Combinator-backed company called LendUp, she wound up staying in the city.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

It’s a wound that I have forever, and I would give anything to not have it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

They also believe that learning more about the local activity of C3 could improve understanding of other biological processes, including wound healing and the regulation of inflammation.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

They call it "sepsis," and they know from bitter experience how quickly a "septic" wound can go from slight redness to gross swelling to a fatal condition called gangrene.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Of the expedition’s 2,300 soldiers and sailors, 900 succumbed to wounds, illness or shipwreck.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

His subsequent research showed that these precursor cells multiply dramatically around the edges of brain wounds.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

Thongchai, who was chairman of the Nonthaburi local government administration, later died of his wounds, according to Sakon Sukprom, director of Phra Nang Klao hospital.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Video footage taken shortly before her capture showed her sparring with two younger eagles, but exams revealed no wounds or broken bones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

"Sometimes, my dear. And I have got arrow wounds. Have you ever seen arrow wounds?"

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Related Words

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