English Explanatory Dictionary

wind

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Real or perceived movement of atmospheric air usually caused by convection or differences in air pressure.
  2. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action.
  3. The ability to breathe easily.
  4. News of an event, especially by hearsay or gossip.
  5. A tendency or trend.
  6. One of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans; air.
  7. One of the five basic elements in Indian and Japanese models of the Classical elements.
  8. Flatus.
  9. Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument.
  10. The woodwind section of an orchestra. Occasionally also used to include the brass section.
  11. A woodwind instrument. Occasionally also used to describe a brass instrument.
  12. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points.
verb
  1. To blow air through a wind instrument or horn to make a sound.
  2. To cause (someone) to become breathless, as by a blow to the abdomen, or by physical exertion, running, etc.
  3. To cause a baby to bring up wind by patting its back after being fed.
  4. To turn a boat or ship around, so that the wind strikes it on the opposite side.
  5. To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate.
  6. To perceive or follow by scent.
  7. To rest (a horse, etc.) in order to allow the breath to be recovered; to breathe.
  8. To turn a windmill so that its sails face into the wind.
verb
  1. To turn coils (of a cord or something similar) around something.
  2. To tighten the spring of a clockwork mechanism.
  3. To entwist; to enfold; to encircle.
  4. To travel or follow a path with numerous curves.
  5. To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter at will; to regulate; to govern.
  6. To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate.
  7. To cover or surround with something coiled about.
  8. To cause to move by exerting a winding force; to haul or hoist as by a winch.
  9. To turn (a ship) around, end for end.
noun
  1. The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist.
name
  1. A surname

Pronunciation

wĭnd /ˈwɪnd/ En-uk-wind.ogg En-us-wind-air.ogg wīnd /ˈwaɪ̯nd/ /waɪnd/ en-us-wind-turn.ogg

Word forms

wind winds winde winding winded wound

Etymology

From Middle English wynd, wind, from Old English wind (“wind”), from Proto-West Germanic *wind, from Proto-Germanic *windaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥tos (“wind”), from earlier *h₂wéh₁n̥ts (“wind”), derived from the present participle of *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates Cognate with Yola weend, wyeene (“wind”), North Frisian win, winj (“wind”), Saterland Frisian Wíend (“wind”), West Frisian wyn (“wind”), Alemannic German wend, wind, winn, wénn (“wind”), Bavarian bint, Wind (“wind”), Cimbrian and Mòcheno bint (“wind”), Dutch wind (“wind”), German and German Low German Wind (“wind”), Luxembourgish Wand (“wind”), Yiddish ווינט (vint, “wind”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish vind (“wind”), Faroese and Icelandic vindur (“wind”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌳𐍃 (winds, “wind”), Latin ventus (“wind”), Welsh gwynt (“wind”), Sanskrit वात (vā́ta, “wind”), Russian ве́тер (véter, “wind”), perhaps Albanian bundë (“strong damp wind”). Doublet of athlete, vent, weather and nirvana.

Synonyms

draft gale wind breeze gas twine

Related words

blizzard breeze cyclone dust devil gale gust high wind hurricane nor'easter northeaster northwester sou'easter southeaster southwester sou'wester storm tempest tornado twister typhoon zephyr draft eddy flatus breath updraft ventilation hydrometeor unwind wend

Derived words

Alabama wind chime a sheet in the wind as the wind blows a straw shows how the wind blows bag of wind between wind and water blow wind up someone's skirt blow with the wind break-wind burn-the-wind by-the-wind sailor candle in the wind cast caution to the wind catch wind of close to the wind don't pee in the wind and tell me it's raining don't piss in the wind and tell me it's raining down the wind fart in a wind storm fart in the wind finger in the wind finger to the wind floating wind turbine follow the wind four sheets in the wind four sheets to the wind free as the wind gain the wind geostrophic wind geostrophic wind level get one's wind back get the wind up get wind get wind in one's jaws get wind of gone with the wind go with the wind have the wind up have wind in one's jaw head to wind how the wind is blowing in the eye of the wind in the wind it's an ill wind it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good knock the wind out of someone's sails like the wind long-winded look what the wind blew in must have been the wind must've been the wind on the wind on the wings of the wind out of wind pee in the wind pee into the wind piss and wind piss in the wind piss into the wind prevailing wind
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