winch

¹ American  

[winch] / wɪntʃ /

noun

1. the crank or handle of a revolving machine.

2. a windlass turned by a crank, for hoisting or hauling.

3. any of various devices for cranking.

4. Textiles. Also

   1. any machine equipped with rollers that guide cloth through a dye or finishing solution in an open vat.

   2. a roller between two dyeing vats for passing cloth from one vat to another.

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verb (used with object)

1. to hoist or haul (a load) by means of a winch.

winch ² American  

[winch] / wɪntʃ /

verb (used without object)

Archaic.

1. an archaic variant of wince.

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winch ¹ British  

/ wɪntʃ /

noun

1. a windlass driven by a hand- or power-operated crank

2. a hand- or power-operated crank by which a machine is driven

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verb

1. (tr; often foll by up or in) to pull (in a rope) or lift (a weight) using a winch

winch ² British  

/ wɪntʃ /

verb

1. (intr) an obsolete word for wince 1

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Other Word Forms

• wincher
  noun

Etymology

Origin of winch

before 1050; Middle English winche, Old English wince pulley; akin to wench, wince ¹, wink ¹

Explanation

A winch is a kind of tool for tightening or loosening the tension of a rope or cable. If you take up sailing, you might use a winch to adjust the position of the sails. Ahoy, matey! You use a winch for things like pulling out cars stuck in the mud or snow. Tow trucks have winches, and so do sailboats, for tightening (or "trimming") a sail line. As a verb, winch means to use one: "I told you not to drive through that mud. Now we'll have to winch you out of there." The root of winch means "to bend," possibly in reference to the shape of a winch's handle.

Example Sentences

But he ultimately felt the Bennett Winch holdall edged out the Halfday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

Updates like those are appreciated, said Gretchen Winch, who has taught at the school for eight years, “but this needs to be a first step, not the only step, to improve student safety and well-being.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2023

Jacobs emailed Winch immediately, and they’ve been in touch ever since.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2022

Ron Winch, a former superintendent with West Midlands Police and senior teaching fellow at Birmingham City University, said "in a sense" it was "unprecedented" for stand-offs of this nature to go into a third day.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2022

I read aloud from The Clue of the Broken Locket, where Nancy Drew says, “I’m all set to go! Tell me more about Henry Winch and why he’s so frightened.”

From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar