wind up
Britishverb
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to bring to or reach a conclusion
he wound up the proceedings
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(tr) to tighten the spring of (a clockwork mechanism)
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informal (tr; usually passive) to make nervous, tense, etc; excite
he was all wound up before the big fight
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(tr) to roll (thread, etc) into a ball
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an informal word for liquidate
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informal (intr) to end up (in a specified state)
you'll wind up without any teeth
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(tr; usually passive) to involve; entangle
they were wound up in three different scandals
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(tr) to hoist or haul up
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slang (tr) to tease (someone)
noun
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the act of concluding
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the finish; end
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slang an act or instance of teasing
she just thinks it's a big wind-up
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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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Put in order, settle, as in She had to wind up her affairs before she could move . [Late 1700s]
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Arrive somewhere following a course of action, end up, as in We got lost and wound up in another town altogether , or If you're careless with your bank account, you can wind up overdrawn . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]
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.
Even with subsidies from carriers, the Duo and Apple’s other smartphones could still wind up being pretty pricy.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
With the certainty of someone who’s seen hundreds of rom-coms, I started the film confident that Wendy would wind up with someone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
I think that the rating agencies will wind up more embarrassed by their ratings for states than they were with their ratings for collateralized mortgage obligations before the 2008 housing collapse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
"You always hope something you discovered will wind up in applications. I think there will be many uses."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Because people become fascinated with pictures and words, and wind up forgetting the Language of the World.
From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
