wind
winds; winding; winded
When wind rhymes with "grinned," it refers to moving air, as in a breeze, or what fills the sails of a boat. When wind rhymes with "kind," it means to turn, as in winding one's watch.
There are all kinds of ways to wind: You can wind a ball of yarn, wind up to take a swing, or wind your way home. There are all types of wind, too, from a light breeze (top wind speed of 7 mph) to a hurricane-force wind (wind speed greater than 73 mph). A wind instrument is one where the music is made by blowing into or over a mouthpiece.
Definitions of wind
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air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure“trees bent under the fierce winds”“when there is no wind, row”
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synonyms:
air current, current, current of air
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types:
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airstream
a relatively well-defined prevailing wind
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calm, calm air
wind moving at less than 1 knot; 0 on the Beaufort scale
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air, breeze, gentle wind, zephyr
a slight wind (usually refreshing)
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chinook, chinook wind, snow eater
a warm dry wind blowing down the eastern slopes of the Rockies
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harmattan
a dusty wind from the Sahara that blows toward the western coast of Africa during the winter
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crosswind
wind blowing across the path of a ship or aircraft
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foehn, fohn
a warm dry wind that blows down the northern slopes of the Alps
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khamsin
an oppressively hot southerly wind from the Sahara that blows across Egypt in the spring
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Santa Ana
a strong hot dry wind that blows in winter from the deserts of southern California toward the Pacific Coast
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high wind
a very strong wind
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headwind
wind blowing opposite to the path of a ship or aircraft
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catabatic wind, katabatic wind
a wind caused by the downward motion of cold air
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tailwind
wind blowing in the same direction as the path of a ship or aircraft
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doldrums
a belt of calms and light winds between the northern and southern trade winds of the Atlantic and Pacific
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east wind, easter, easterly
a wind from the east
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northwest wind, northwester
a wind from the northwest
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sou'wester, southwester
a strong wind from the southwest
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sou'easter, southeaster
a strong wind from the southeast
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gale
a strong wind moving 34–40 knots; force 8 on Beaufort scale
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blast, blow, gust
a strong current of air
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monsoon
a seasonal wind in southern Asia; blows from the southwest (bringing rain) in summer and from the northeast in winter
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monsoon
any wind that changes direction with the seasons
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boreas, north wind, norther, northerly
a wind that blows from the north
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prevailing wind
the predominant wind direction
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samiel, simoom, simoon
a violent hot sand-laden wind on the deserts of Arabia and North Africa
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south wind, souther, southerly
a wind from the south
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squall
sudden violent winds; often accompanied by precipitation
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thermal
rising current of warm air
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draft, draught
a current of air (usually coming into a chimney or room or vehicle)
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west wind, wester
wind that blows from west to east
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antitrades
wind in the upper atmosphere blowing above but in the opposite direction from the trade winds
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bise, bize
a dry cold north wind in southeastern France
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sea breeze
a cooling breeze from the sea (during the daytime)
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breath
a slight movement of the air
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light air
wind moving 1-3 knots; 1 on the Beaufort scale
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light breeze
wind moving 4-7 knots; 2 on the Beaufort scale
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gentle breeze
wind moving 7-10 knots; 3 on the Beaufort scale
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moderate breeze
wind moving 13-18 knots; 4 on the Beaufort scale
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fresh breeze
wind moving 19-24 knots; 5 on the Beaufort scale
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strong breeze
wind moving 25-31 knots; 6 on the Beaufort scale
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moderate gale, near gale
wind moving 32-38 knots; 7 on the Beaufort scale
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fresh gale
wind moving 39-46 knots; 8 on the Beaufort scale
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strong gale
wind moving 47-54 knots; 9 on the Beaufort scale
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whole gale
wind moving 55-63 knots; 10 on the Beaufort scale
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bluster
a violent gusty wind
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sandblast
a blast of wind laden with sand
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jet stream
a high-speed high-altitude airstream blowing from west to east near the top of the troposphere; has important effects of the formation of weather fronts
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levanter
an easterly wind in the western Mediterranean area
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mistral
a strong north wind that blows in France during the winter
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puff, puff of air, whiff
a short light gust of air
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line squall
a squall advancing along a front that forms a definite line
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trade, trade wind
steady winds blowing from east to west above and below the equator
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antitrade, antitrade wind
winds blowing from west to east and lying above the trade winds in the tropics
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tramontana, tramontane
a cold dry wind that blows south out of the mountains into Italy and the western Mediterranean
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updraft
a strong upward air current
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downdraft
a strong downward air current
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prevailing westerly, westerly
the winds from the west that occur in the temperate zones of the Earth
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type of:
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atmospheric condition, conditions, weather, weather condition
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
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a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by an enclosed column of air that is moved by the breath
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synonyms:
wind instrument
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types:
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brass, brass instrument
a wind instrument that consists of a brass tube (usually of variable length) that is blown by means of a cup-shaped or funnel-shaped mouthpiece
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free-reed instrument
a wind instrument with a free reed
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kazoo
a toy wind instrument that has a membrane that makes a sound when you hum into the mouthpiece
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ocarina, sweet potato
egg-shaped terra cotta wind instrument with a mouthpiece and finger holes
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organ, pipe organ
wind instrument whose sound is produced by means of pipes arranged in sets supplied with air from a bellows and controlled from a large complex musical keyboard
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organ pipe, pipe, pipework
the flues and stops on a pipe organ
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pipe
a tubular wind instrument
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post horn
wind instrument used by postilions of the 18th and 19th centuries
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whistle
a small wind instrument that produces a whistling sound by blowing into it
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wood, woodwind, woodwind instrument
any wind instrument other than the brass instruments
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accordion, piano accordion, squeeze box
a portable box-shaped free-reed instrument; the reeds are made to vibrate by air from the bellows controlled by the player
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American organ
a free-reed instrument in which air is drawn in through reeds by suction bellows
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bagpipe
a tubular wind instrument; the player blows air into a bag and squeezes it out through the drone
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baritone, baritone horn
the second lowest brass wind instrument
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bass horn, sousaphone, tuba
the lowest brass wind instrument
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beating-reed instrument, reed, reed instrument
a musical instrument that sounds by means of a vibrating reed
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bugle
a brass instrument without valves; used for military calls and fanfares
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chanter, melody pipe
reed pipe with finger holes on which the melody is played
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clarion
a medieval brass instrument with a clear shrill tone
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concertina
free-reed instrument played like an accordion by pushing its ends together to force air through the reeds
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cornet, horn, trump, trumpet
a brass musical instrument with a brilliant tone; has a narrow tube and a flared bell and is played by means of valves
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bourdon, drone, drone pipe
a pipe of the bagpipe that is tuned to produce a single continuous tone
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fipple flute, fipple pipe, recorder, vertical flute
a tubular wind instrument with 8 finger holes and a fipple mouthpiece
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flue, flue pipe, labial pipe
organ pipe whose tone is produced by air passing across the sharp edge of a fissure or lip
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fluegelhorn, flugelhorn
a brass instrument resembling a cornet but with a wider bore
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flute, transverse flute
a high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown
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French horn, horn
a brass musical instrument consisting of a conical tube that is coiled into a spiral and played by means of valves
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harmonica, harp, mouth harp, mouth organ
a small rectangular free-reed instrument having a row of free reeds set back in air holes and played by blowing into the desired hole
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harmonium, organ, reed organ
a free-reed instrument in which air is forced through the reeds by bellows
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organ stop
a graduated set of organ pipes of like tone quality
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pandean pipe, panpipe, syrinx
a primitive wind instrument consisting of several parallel pipes bound together
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pitch pipe
a small pipe sounding a tone of standard frequency; used to establish the starting pitch for unaccompanied singing
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reed pipe
organ pipe with a vibrating reed
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saxhorn
any of a family of brass wind instruments that resemble a bugle with valves
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trombone
a brass instrument consisting of a long tube whose length can be varied by a U-shaped slide
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type of:
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instrument, musical instrument
any of various devices or contrivances that can be used to produce musical tones or sounds
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catch the scent of; get wind of
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a reflex that expels intestinal gas through the anus
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type of:
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inborn reflex, innate reflex, instinctive reflex, physiological reaction, reflex, reflex action, reflex response, unconditioned reflex
an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus
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inborn reflex, innate reflex, instinctive reflex, physiological reaction, reflex, reflex action, reflex response, unconditioned reflex
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breath“the collision knocked the wind out of him”
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type of:
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breathing out, exhalation, expiration
the act of expelling air from the lungs
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breathing out, exhalation, expiration
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a tendency or force that influences events“the winds of change”
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type of:
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influence
the effect of one thing (or person) on another
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influence
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an indication of potential opportunity
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synonyms:
confidential information, hint, lead, steer, tip
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type of:
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counsel, counseling, counselling, direction, guidance
something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action
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counsel, counseling, counselling, direction, guidance
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empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk“that's a lot of wind”
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synonyms:
idle words, jazz, malarkey, malarky, nothingness
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to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
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arrange or coil around
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types:
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spool
wind onto a spool or a reel
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reel
wind onto or off a reel
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ball
form into a ball by winding or rolling
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clew, clue
roll into a ball
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coil, curl, loop
wind around something in coils or loops
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cheese
wind onto a cheese
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reel off, unreel
unwind from or as if from a reel
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coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem
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extend in curves and turns
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form into a wreath
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raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
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the act of winding or twisting“he put the key in the old clock and gave it a good wind”
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type of:
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rotary motion, rotation
the act of rotating as if on an axis
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rotary motion, rotation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘wind'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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