wound

¹ American  

[woond, wound] / wund, waʊnd /

noun

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

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

wound More Idioms  

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

---

Related Words

See injury.

Other Word Forms

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

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

Example Sentences

Only about a yard of this is visible; the rest is wound on horizontal spindles.

From The Wall Street Journal

He wound up getting help from a therapist, he said at the time.

From Los Angeles Times

Four days on from the disaster, Swiss police announced all 116 people wounded in the deadly fire had now been identified, alongside the 40 fatalities, most of whom were teenagers.

From Barron's

Across the league, a new wave of quarterbacks outshined the old guard and wound up piloting the best teams in the sport.

From The Wall Street Journal

Those conversations shattered the "prejudice" she carried, an ignorance that "reduces a person entirely to their wound".

From BBC

Related Words

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