wind-down

American

[wahynd-doun] / ˈwaɪndˌdaʊn /

noun

an act or instance of winding down, as in intensity.

a gradual wind-down in hostilities.

wind down British

/ waɪnd /

verb

(tr) to lower or move down by cranking
(intr) (of a clock spring) to become slack
(intr) to diminish gradually in force or power; relax

"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

wind down Idioms

Diminish gradually, draw to a close, as in By midnight the party had wound down. [Mid-1900s] Also see wind up.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

wind-downs

plural

Etymology

Origin of wind-down

First recorded in 1965–70; noun use of the verb phrase wind down

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.

And one hot AI trade that is starting to wind down is the “bottleneck trade,” says Altreides Management managing partner Gavin Baker.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026

He says you won't fall asleep the second the final whistle blows either because "you're going to get so energised, it'll be difficult to wind down".

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

This margin could move towards 11.5% by 2030 as legacy projects wind down, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

The unusual early look at his budget proposal comes as Newsom begins to wind down his time at the state Capitol and considers a run for president in 2028.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

A reactor that is producing fewer neutrons than it is losing will eventually wind down, the chain reaction broken.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

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