"wind down" meaning in English

See wind down in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

IPA: /waɪnd ˈdaʊn/ Audio: En-au-wind down.ogg Forms: winds down [present, singular, third-person], winding down [participle, present], wound down [participle, past], wound down [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|wind<,,wound> down}} wind down (third-person singular simple present winds down, present participle winding down, simple past and past participle wound down)
  1. (transitive, of an object that can be raised or lowered) To lower by winding, as with a crank or windlass. Tags: transitive Synonyms: roll down, lower
    Sense id: en-wind_down-en-verb-en:lower_by_cranking Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "down", Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 18 6 30 27 19 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "down": 20 5 28 26 21 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 19 5 29 27 19 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 19 3 29 29 21
  2. (transitive, of a device with a mainspring) To unwind. Tags: transitive Synonyms: unwind, deactivate
    Sense id: en-wind_down-en-verb-en:unwind_the_spring
  3. (transitive) To shut down slowly (by degrees or in phases). Tags: transitive Synonyms: unwind, shut down Derived forms: winddown
    Sense id: en-wind_down-en-verb-en:shut_down_gradually Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "down", Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 18 6 30 27 19 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "down": 20 5 28 26 21 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 19 5 29 27 19 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 19 3 29 29 21
  4. (intransitive) To slow, as if coming to an end; to become calmer or less busy. Tags: intransitive Synonyms: taper off
    Sense id: en-wind_down-en-verb-en:taper_off_intransitively Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "down", Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 18 6 30 27 19 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "down": 20 5 28 26 21 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 19 5 29 27 19 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 19 3 29 29 21
  5. (intransitive, idiomatic) To relax; to get rid of stress; to destress. Tags: idiomatic, intransitive Categories (topical): Rest Synonyms: calm down, unwind, chill out, let off steam
    Sense id: en-wind_down-en-verb-en:calm_down Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "down", Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 18 6 30 27 19 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "down": 20 5 28 26 21 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 19 5 29 27 19 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 19 3 29 29 21

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "winds down",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "winding down",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wound down",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wound down",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "wind<,,wound> down"
      },
      "expansion": "wind down (third-person singular simple present winds down, present participle winding down, simple past and past participle wound down)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "wind up"
        },
        {
          "word": "roll up"
        },
        {
          "word": "raise"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "18 6 30 27 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 5 28 26 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"down\"",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 5 29 27 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 3 29 29 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Wind down the car window if you want to talk to me.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To lower by winding, as with a crank or windlass."
      ],
      "id": "en-wind_down-en-verb-en:lower_by_cranking",
      "links": [
        [
          "winding",
          "wind#Etymology_2"
        ],
        [
          "crank",
          "crank"
        ],
        [
          "windlass",
          "windlass"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, of an object that can be raised or lowered) To lower by winding, as with a crank or windlass."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of an object that can be raised or lowered"
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:lower by cranking"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "roll down"
        },
        {
          "word": "lower"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "wind"
        },
        {
          "word": "wind up"
        },
        {
          "word": "activate"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "You'd better wind down that wind-up toy before you take it apart, or pieces might go flying.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To unwind."
      ],
      "id": "en-wind_down-en-verb-en:unwind_the_spring",
      "links": [
        [
          "mainspring",
          "mainspring"
        ],
        [
          "unwind",
          "unwind#Verb"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, of a device with a mainspring) To unwind."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a device with a mainspring"
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:unwind the spring"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "unwind"
        },
        {
          "word": "deactivate"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "activate"
        },
        {
          "word": "fire up"
        },
        {
          "word": "power up"
        },
        {
          "word": "start up"
        },
        {
          "word": "boot up"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "18 6 30 27 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 5 28 26 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"down\"",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 5 29 27 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 3 29 29 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "_dis1": "28 12 51 0 9",
          "word": "winddown"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "A program as complex as the Space Shuttle program takes some time to wind down.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "As a result, Bowman admitted, Sellafield’s scientists are having to invent, mid-marathon, the process of winding the site down – and they’re finding that they still don’t know enough about it.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To shut down slowly (by degrees or in phases)."
      ],
      "id": "en-wind_down-en-verb-en:shut_down_gradually",
      "links": [
        [
          "shut down",
          "shut down"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To shut down slowly (by degrees or in phases)."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:shut down gradually"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "unwind"
        },
        {
          "word": "shut down"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "18 6 30 27 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 5 28 26 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"down\"",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 5 29 27 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 3 29 29 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The festival seems to be winding down now.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To slow, as if coming to an end; to become calmer or less busy."
      ],
      "id": "en-wind_down-en-verb-en:taper_off_intransitively",
      "links": [
        [
          "slow",
          "slow"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To slow, as if coming to an end; to become calmer or less busy."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:taper off intransitively"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "taper off"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "power up"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Rest",
          "orig": "en:Rest",
          "parents": [
            "Body",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "18 6 30 27 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 5 28 26 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"down\"",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 5 29 27 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 3 29 29 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "After a long day at work, she winds down by kickboxing.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To relax; to get rid of stress; to destress."
      ],
      "id": "en-wind_down-en-verb-en:calm_down",
      "links": [
        [
          "relax",
          "relax"
        ],
        [
          "stress",
          "stress"
        ],
        [
          "destress",
          "destress"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To relax; to get rid of stress; to destress."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:calm down"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "calm down"
        },
        {
          "word": "unwind"
        },
        {
          "word": "chill out"
        },
        {
          "word": "let off steam"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/waɪnd ˈdaʊn/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-wind down.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/52/En-au-wind_down.ogg/En-au-wind_down.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/En-au-wind_down.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "wind down"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs formed with \"down\"",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "winddown"
    }
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "winds down",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "winding down",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wound down",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "wound down",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "wind<,,wound> down"
      },
      "expansion": "wind down (third-person singular simple present winds down, present participle winding down, simple past and past participle wound down)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "wind up"
        },
        {
          "word": "roll up"
        },
        {
          "word": "raise"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Wind down the car window if you want to talk to me.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To lower by winding, as with a crank or windlass."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "winding",
          "wind#Etymology_2"
        ],
        [
          "crank",
          "crank"
        ],
        [
          "windlass",
          "windlass"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, of an object that can be raised or lowered) To lower by winding, as with a crank or windlass."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of an object that can be raised or lowered"
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:lower by cranking"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "roll down"
        },
        {
          "word": "lower"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "wind"
        },
        {
          "word": "wind up"
        },
        {
          "word": "activate"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "You'd better wind down that wind-up toy before you take it apart, or pieces might go flying.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To unwind."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "mainspring",
          "mainspring"
        ],
        [
          "unwind",
          "unwind#Verb"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, of a device with a mainspring) To unwind."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a device with a mainspring"
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:unwind the spring"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "unwind"
        },
        {
          "word": "deactivate"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "activate"
        },
        {
          "word": "fire up"
        },
        {
          "word": "power up"
        },
        {
          "word": "start up"
        },
        {
          "word": "boot up"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "A program as complex as the Space Shuttle program takes some time to wind down.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "As a result, Bowman admitted, Sellafield’s scientists are having to invent, mid-marathon, the process of winding the site down – and they’re finding that they still don’t know enough about it.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To shut down slowly (by degrees or in phases)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "shut down",
          "shut down"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To shut down slowly (by degrees or in phases)."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:shut down gradually"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "unwind"
        },
        {
          "word": "shut down"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The festival seems to be winding down now.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To slow, as if coming to an end; to become calmer or less busy."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "slow",
          "slow"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To slow, as if coming to an end; to become calmer or less busy."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:taper off intransitively"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "taper off"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "power up"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "en:Rest"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "After a long day at work, she winds down by kickboxing.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To relax; to get rid of stress; to destress."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "relax",
          "relax"
        ],
        [
          "stress",
          "stress"
        ],
        [
          "destress",
          "destress"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To relax; to get rid of stress; to destress."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:calm down"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "calm down"
        },
        {
          "word": "unwind"
        },
        {
          "word": "chill out"
        },
        {
          "word": "let off steam"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/waɪnd ˈdaʊn/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-wind down.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/52/En-au-wind_down.ogg/En-au-wind_down.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/En-au-wind_down.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "wind down"
}

Download raw JSONL data for wind down meaning in English (4.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.