wound

¹ American  

[woond, waund] / 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  

[waund] / 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

Reebok wound up urging retailers to black out the name on boxes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

He punctuated his performance with a fastball on the corner that ended the inning and wound up costing Atlanta its final ABS challenge.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

England's World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina felt like the most painful wound of all as the so-called years of hurt stretched to six decades - but the process of recovery has started swiftly.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Our group — two reporters, a photographer and a video journalist — went through security and, camera rolling, wound our way through the maze of the midcentury building.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Opal wound her tongue around her mouth, eyes blank.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Outwardly, Kenig, with a sharp-featured face and salt-and-pepper beard, does not reveal his inner wounds.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

During the drill, he heard through his headset that two soldiers had taken simulated gunshot wounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

It left him in a dark place, as he previously detailed in an interview with BBC Sport, but the "wounds" he experienced in life have shaped him.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

In the post, Wouter was pictured wearing a dog cone, which is used to prevent pets from licking, chewing or scratching surgical sites or wounds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Golden ichor flowed from the wounds on his arms and chest.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

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