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

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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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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

But the international prices fell back down closer to $107 a barrel as markets wound down for the day.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

What’s much more difficult to grasp, even for those of us now alive, is how we wound up in a world where that might happen.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

This finding changes how scientists understand cell movement, cancer spread and wound healing.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

These statements—by the governor, the mayor, a Chicago alderwoman—weren’t intended to wound, but they did.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

But then they wound up doing something quite different from—and, ultimately, more profitable than—what everyone else who bet against the subprime mortgage market was doing: They bet against the upper floors—the double-A tranches—of the CDOs.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

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