unwind
[uhn-wahynd]
- to undo or loosen from or as if from a coiled condition: to unwind a rolled bandage; to unwind a coiled rope.
- to reduce the tension of; relax: to unwind a person with a drink.
- to disentangle or disengage; untwist: to unwind one's legs from around the stool.
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- to become unwound.
- to become relieved of tension; relax: After work we can have a drink and unwind.
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Origin of unwind
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
loosen, unravel, unfurl, loose, slacken, separate, disentangle, free, unroll, unwrap, ravel, unbend, untwine, untwist, unreel, uncoil, recline, quieten, restExamples from the Web for unwind
Contemporary Examples
To unwind, Sharp takes long showers, and stops himself from separating his food on his plate as Christopher would.
The Hakushu 12 was a little peaty and nutty, the kind of dram I want to unwind with after a fine restaurant meal.
When I want to unwind, I just go to bed with a detective story.
It took me about two years to unwind the tension, so in that time, I almost had to relearn how to sing.
La Roux Discusses New Album ‘Trouble in Paradise,’ the 5-Year Gap, and Embracing Her AndrogynyMarlow Stern
July 6, 2014
Things got a little real during that scene to the point where, afterward, we were like, “Do you want to get a beer and unwind?”
Dave Franco Uncut: The Actor on ’22 Jump Street,’ ‘The Room,’ and His Bro’s Nude InstagramsMarlow Stern
June 13, 2014
Historical Examples
He began to unwind his long scarf while she placed a seat for him.
RomolaGeorge Eliot
Then Mukna's head began to droop and droop; and his trunk began to unwind.
The Wonders of the Jungle, Book TwoPrince Sarath Ghosh
We want to have you take us to the North Pole and unwind about six years.
The PanchroniconHarold Steele Mackaye
"Perhaps this will do," he thought, and hurriedly proceeded to unwind it.
The Duke's MottoJustin Huntly McCarthy
Her argument, however, does not concern this history, which has too many other threads to unwind.
The Portrait of a LadyHenry James
unwind
- to slacken, undo, or unravel or cause to slacken, undo, or unravel
- (tr) to disentangle
- to make or become relaxedhe finds it hard to unwind after a busy day at work
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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
Word Origin and History for unwind
v.
early 14c., "to undo" (a bandage, wrapping, etc.), from un- (2) + wind (v.). Cf. Old English unwindan, Dutch ontwinden, Old High German intwindan. Refl. sense is recorded from 1740; figurative sense of "to release oneself from tensions, to relax" is recorded from 1938. Related: Unwound; unwinding.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper