Word of the Day: Wind
These are actually two different words with one spelling.
When the word refers to the movement of air, it sounds like “wind” (short “i” sound).
- The wind is blowing pretty hard today.
- It’s windy today. (“Windy” is an adjective.)
- There’s a lot of wind in the winter and the spring.
- The wind blew down a tree outside of our house.
- The wind is very strong.
If you pronounce the vowel with a long “i” sound, this word becomes “wind.” When you turn something such as a watch, a timer, or a toy, you “wind” it (long “i” sound).
| simple | past | past participle |
|---|---|---|
|
wind
|
wound
|
wound
|
- I have to wind my watch.
- This watch needs to be wound. (passive infinitive)
- If you wind this toy, it will walk across the room.
The word “wind” is also used to describe roads, pathways, and directions–especially when something is not straight:
- The highway winds around the mountain.
- We wound our way through the forest.
- You’ll have to wind your way through this crowd to reach the front of the stage.
As an idiom, “wind up” means to finish in a location or a position:
- Because we took a wrong turn, we wound up in the wrong place.
- If you don’t study hard, you’ll wind up getting bad grades.
- Joe wound up going to law school to become a lawyer instead of medical school to become a doctor.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with W page to see the list of all words starting with letter W. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
