windup

or wind-up

[ wahynd-uhp ]

See synonyms for windup on Thesaurus.com

noun

the conclusion of any action, activity, etc.; the end or close.
a final act or part.

Baseball. the preparatory movements of the arm before pitching a ball.: Compare stretch (def. 22).
Informal. a mechanical object, as a toy or wristwatch, that is driven by a spring or similar mechanism that must be wound.
an act or instance of winding up.

Origin of windup

First recorded in1565–75; noun use of verb phrase wind up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use windup in a sentence

For instance: suppose the Republicans wind up with a clear Senate majority on November 4th.
Election Day In The Big Sleazy | Jeff Greenfield | November 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But as it takes away the safety net, their corpses wind up in fishing nets.
Britain’s Let-Em-All-Die Policy | Nico Hines, Barbie Latza Nadeau | November 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
I took the opportunity to point out that many of the players in the upcoming slate of games would wind up with brain damage.
How the Media Failed to Nail the NFL | Steve Almond | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The painting is of a human heart set inside a wind-up music box that has a metal rod poking out of the pulmonary artery.
Trading Dime Bags for Salvador Dali | Jason McGahan | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Which is why his efforts to justify his rabid consumption of football wind up feeling so slippery and convoluted.
Forget the Wife Beating—Are You Ready for Some Football? | Steve Almond | September 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

I understood, Mr. Clifton, that you were the solicitor employed to wind up the affairs of the late Mr. Antony Clifton.
First Plays | A. A. Milne
It would have been nice to see Meadows wind up rich, or for Howlet to become mayor of the dome, but what could I do?
Fee of the Frontier | Horace Brown Fyfe
"That—that is the wind-up," said the poor Nabob, who could not help laughing, though it was a very piteous and bitter laugh.
The Nabob | Alphonse Daudet
In the course of a sermon he will give you three or four perorations, and sometimes wind up without treating you to one.
Our Churches and Chapels | Atticus
If the reel is made to wind up 4 ft. of line to each revolution and the sash-cord shaft is 3/4 in.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for wind up

wind up

/ (waɪnd) /

verb(adverb)

to bring to or reach a conclusion: he wound up the proceedings
(tr) to tighten the spring of (a clockwork mechanism)

(tr; usually passive) informal to make nervous, tense, etc; excite: he was all wound up before the big fight
(tr) to roll (thread, etc) into a ball
an informal word for liquidate (def. 2)
(intr) informal to end up (in a specified state): you'll wind up without any teeth
(tr; usually passive) to involve; entangle: they were wound up in three different scandals
(tr) to hoist or haul up
(tr) British slang to tease (someone)

nounwind-up

the act of concluding
the finish; end

British slang an act or instance of teasing: she just thinks it's a big wind-up

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with windup

windup

Come or bring to a finish, as in The party was winding up, so we decided to leave, or Let's wind up the meeting and get back to work. [Early 1800s] Also see wind down.

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