WIND


Meaning of WIND in English

I .

/ wɪnd; NAmE / noun , verb

—see also wind (II)

■ noun

1.

[ C , U ] (also the wind ) air that moves quickly as a result of natural forces :

strong / high winds

gale-force winds

a light wind

a north / south / east / west wind

a chill / cold / biting wind from the north

The wind is blowing from the south.

The trees were swaying in the wind .

A gust of wind blew my hat off.

The weather was hot, without a a breath of wind .

The wall gives some protection from the prevailing wind .

The wind is getting up (= starting to blow strongly) .

The wind has dropped (= stopped blowing strongly) .

wind speed / direction

—see also crosswind , downwind , headwind , tailwind , trade wind , windy

2.

( BrE ) ( NAmE gas ) [ U ] air that you swallow with food or drink; gas that is produced in your stomach or intestines that makes you feel uncomfortable :

I can't eat beans—they give me wind.

Try to bring the baby's wind up.

3.

[ U ] breath that you need when you do exercise or blow into a musical instrument :

I need time to get my wind back after that run.

He kicked Gomez in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

—see also second wind

4.

[ U+sing./pl. v . ] the group of musical instruments in an orchestra that produce sounds when you blow into them; the musicians who play those instruments :

music for wind and strings

the wind section

The wind played beautifully.

—compare woodwind

IDIOMS

- break wind

- get wind of sth

- get / have the wind up (about sth)

- in the wind

- like the wind

- put the wind up sb

- take the wind out of sb's sails

- a wind / the winds of change

—more at caution noun , following , ill adjective , sail verb , straw , way noun

■ verb [ vn ]

1.

[ usually passive ] to make sb unable to breathe easily for a short time :

He was momentarily winded by the blow to his stomach.

2.

( BrE ) to gently hit or rub a baby's back to make it burp (= release gas from its stomach through its mouth)

SYN burp

—see also long-winded

II .

/ waɪnd; NAmE / verb

—see also wind (I) ( wound , wound / waʊnd; NAmE /)

1.

[+ adv. / prep. ] ( of a road, river, etc. ) to have many bends and twists :

[ v ]

The path wound down to the beach.

[ vn ]

The river winds its way between two meadows.

—see also winding

2.

[ vn + adv. / prep. ] to wrap or twist sth around itself or sth else :

He wound the wool into a ball.

Wind the bandage around your finger.

3.

wind (sth) (up) to make a clock or other piece of machinery work by turning a knob , handle, etc. several times; to be able to be made to work in this way :

[ vn ]

He had forgotten to wind his watch.

[ v ]

It was one of those old-fashioned gramophones that winds up.

—see also wind-up

4.

wind (sth) forward / back to operate a tape, film, etc. so that it moves nearer to its ending or starting position :

[ vn ]

He wound the tape back to the beginning.

[ v ]

Wind forward to the bit where they discover the body.

5.

[ vn ] to turn a handle several times :

You operate the trapdoor by winding this handle.

IDIOMS

see little finger

►  wind noun :

Give the handle another couple of winds.

PHRASAL VERBS

- wind down

- wind sth down

- wind up

- wind up | wind sth up

- wind sb up

- wind sth up

••

WORD ORIGIN

I . Old English , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wind and German Wind , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin ventus .

II . Old English windan go rapidly , twine , of Germanic origin; related to wander and wend .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.