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 .