wound

¹ American  

[woond, wound] / wund, waʊnd /

noun

• wounds
  plural

1. an injury, usually involving division of tissue or rupture of the integument or mucous membrane, due to external violence or some mechanical agency rather than disease.

   Synonyms:

   trauma, lesion, laceration, stab, cut

2. a similar injury to the tissue of a plant.

3. an injury or hurt to feelings, sensibilities, reputation, etc.

   Synonyms:

   anguish, pain, insult

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verb (used with object)

1. to inflict a wound upon; injure; hurt.

   Synonyms:

   lacerate, stab, cut, damage, harm

verb (used without object)

1. to inflict a wound.

idioms

1. lick one's wounds, to attempt to heal one's injuries or soothe one's hurt feelings after a defeat.

wound ² American  

[wound] / waʊnd /

verb

1. a simple past tense and past participle of wind and wind.

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wound ¹ British  

/ wuːnd /

noun

1. any break in the skin or an organ or part as the result of violence or a surgical incision

2. an injury to plant tissue

3. any injury or slight to the feelings or reputation

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verb

1. to inflict a wound or wounds upon (someone or something)

wound ² British  

/ waʊnd /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of wind 2

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wound More Idioms  

1. see lick one's wounds; rub in (salt into a wound).

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Synonym Usage

See injury.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• wounder
  noun
• woundable
  adjective
• wounding
  adjective
• woundless
  adjective
• woundedly
  adverb
• woundingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wounds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wound

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English wund; cognate with Old High German wunta ( German Wunde ), Old Norse und, Gothic wunds; (verb) Middle English wounden, Old English wundian, derivative of the noun

Explanation

A wound is a serious injury, especially a deep cut through the skin. But things like pride and feelings can also get wounded. Wounds are serious: we're talking a lot worse than just a scrape or booboo. Just about all the meanings of this word have to do with being hurt. If you got stabbed, you got a stab wound. Soldiers in battle get a lot of wounds from enemies. If someone told you to shut up, they might wound your feelings. If you slipped in a puddle in front of your friends, that might wound your pride.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wound wounds

The family wound up not showing up for the flight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

He wound up buying virtually everything the program had, writing a $10,000 check out of his personal account.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Musk left the Trump administration more than a year ago and his Doge project, which aimed to slash the size of the US federal government, has since been wound down.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Proponents offer sweeping claims about their benefits, ranging from glowing skin and muscle growth to brain health and wound healing.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

A jagged wound stretches diagonally across his face, from one side of his chin to the alternate side of his forehead.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Zidane is finding Les Bleus in immeasurably better shape than his predecessor did at the start of his own tenure, at which point the wounds of the 2010 World Cup fiasco were still fresh.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

It’s a devilishly strategic move by director Taccone: Mr. Guilfoyle provides a rush of exhilarating wind through a movie that may have started to feel a little sticky, especially around the head wounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Either way, reluctance to associate either Salinger or his most indelible creation with crazed murderers meant keeping their own wounds at arms’ length.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

Instead, it wants to expose the wounds that are driving its characters to look for love in all the wrong internet places.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

It is also about the deep scars that slavery left on America—old wounds that surface in racial conflict today.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Related Words

• bruise
• cut
• damage
• grief
• laceration
• lesion
• pain
• shock
• trauma