wind down

verb

wound down also winded down; winding down; winds down

intransitive verb

1
: to draw gradually toward an end
the party was winding down
2
: relax, unwind
wind down with a good book

transitive verb

: to cause a gradual lessening of usually with the intention of bringing to an end

Examples of wind down in a Sentence

not being one for alcoholic beverages, I prefer to wind down with a cup of tea every night
Recent Examples on the Web The El Niño pattern should wind down in a few months, bringing some respite to the Amazon. Manuela Andreoni, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024 Lakers LeBron James exits early as Lakers surrender 19-point lead and fall to Kings March 6, 2024 The season is winding down and there’s not much time for the Lakers to make up ground. Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 For just $48, your campsite will literally be the coolest in the park with this Stoic 30-Can Heavy Duty Cooler, and once the party’s over, wind down in the Marmot Catalyst 2-Person Tent, on sale for $160. Alice Bennett, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2024 For its part, Meta has wound down CrowdTangle, a tool that allowed researchers and journalists to track the spread of posts, and cut off researchers at New York University who were studying political ads and Covid-19 disinformation. Vittoria Elliott, WIRED, 1 Mar. 2024 October The Alaska cruise season winds down in October, with only a few ships setting sail. Susan B. Barnes, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Feb. 2024 Earnings reporting season is winding down for the big companies in the S&P 500, and the hope is that a remarkably solid U.S. economy will help profits grow through this year. Zimo Zhong, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2024 Apple is winding down its effort to create an electric car with autonomous capabilities, a significant shift for the company that has poured resources into the highly secretive project for nearly a decade. Trisha Thadani, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024 The executives told staff that once work on the car has been wound down, some employees will be shifted to generative AI projects. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wind down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wind down was in 1952

Dictionary Entries Near wind down

Cite this Entry

“Wind down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wind%20down. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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