winder

[ wahyn-der ]

/ ˈwaɪn dər /

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noun

a person or thing that winds.

a staircase step for changing direction.Compare flier (def. 9).

a plant that coils or twines itself about something.

an instrument or a machine for winding thread or the like.

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

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Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of winder

First recorded in 1545–55; wind² + -er¹

Words nearby winder

wind chimes, wind colic, wind cone, wind-down, winded, winder, Windermere, wind erosion, windfall, windfall tax, windfarm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use winder in a sentence

The Queen is looking for a new clock winder - sorry, 'horological conservator' - to manage her collection fo over 1,000 clocks.
New Royal Clock Winder Needed|Tom Sykes|September 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And five minutes later that critter he came To the second floor winder surrounded by flame.
The Book of Humorous Verse|Various
I'd pitch him out o' winder, only he couldn't fall far enough, 'cause o' the leads outside.'
The Pickwick Papers|Charles Dickens
"I've lived all my days without ary winder, an' got along mighty well," said she.
Personal Recollections of Pardee Butler|Pardee Butler

You'll find something the Count give me to bring yer; I've put it on the winder-sill out 'ere.
The Tinted Venus|F. Anstey
Spinks's Charlotte is a very different affair—and there she is at the winder over the way.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXLII. Vol. LV. April, 1844|Various

British Dictionary definitions for winder

winder

/ (ˈwaɪndə) /

noun

a person or device that winds, as an engine for hoisting the cages in a mine shaft or a device for winding the yarn in textile manufacture

an object, such as a bobbin, around which something is wound

a knob or key used to wind up a clock, watch, or similar mechanism

any plant that twists itself around a support

a step of a spiral staircase

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