wound

1 of 3

noun

ˈwünd How to pronounce wound (audio)
archaic or dialectal
ˈwau̇nd How to pronounce wound (audio)
1
a
: an injury to the body (as from violence, accident, or surgery) that typically involves laceration or breaking of a membrane (such as the skin) and usually damage to underlying tissues
b
: a cut or breach in a plant usually due to an external agent
2
: a mental or emotional hurt or blow
3
: something resembling a wound in appearance or effect
especially : a rift in or blow to a political body or social group

wound

2 of 3

verb

ˈwünd How to pronounce wound (audio)
 archaic or dialectal  ˈwau̇nd
wounded; wounding; wounds

transitive verb

: to cause a wound to or in

intransitive verb

: to inflict a wound

wound

3 of 3

past tense and past participle of wind

Examples of wound in a Sentence

Noun She suffered a knife wound to her thigh. Her mother's scorn left a wound that never healed. Verb Four people were seriously wounded in the explosion. The soldier's leg was wounded by a grenade. Losing the match wounded his pride.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Kimberly Gilbert brings verve to Volumnia, Coriolanus’s mother, whose gloating over her son’s combat wounds underscores the culture’s destructive obsession with war and honor. Celia Wren, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 Officers were called about 5:24 p.m. to the 3800 block of 14th Avenue for reports of a shooting and found a 33-year-old woman with at least one gunshot wound, according to The Sacramento Bee’s previous reporting. Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2024 Daniel Rhodes was convicted Wednesday after a two-day trial in the killing of 65-year-old Michael McDowell, who was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in the 10000 block of Pineneedle Court near North Mitthoefer Road. The Indianapolis Star, 6 Mar. 2024 Officers, responding to reports of shots fired at 10:36 p.m., found the man lying in the middle of the road at Northwest Fifth Avenue and 16th Street with a gunshot wound, said Detective Angel Rodriguez, a spokesman with the Miami-Dade Police Department. David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 The other victims include a 15-year-old boy who sustained a graze wound to his right shoulder while attempting to flee the chaotic scene. Louis Casiano, Fox News, 5 Mar. 2024 His wounds were not believed to be life threatening, police said. Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2024 Officers arrived to find the victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. Jason Green, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 The possible person of interest was seen after Second Division officers responded to a call about a person shot in the 600 block of Lindell Avenue and found a man injured by what seemed like a gunshot wound. The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024
Verb
Two other police officers were shot and wounded, and were expected to recover. Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2024 James Crumbley has pleaded not guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter in the November 30, 2021, mass shooting at Oxford High School, in which his son Ethan killed four students and wounded six students and a teacher. Eric Levenson, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 The gun fired, killing Halyna Hutchins and seriously wounding director Joel Souza. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 Video released of gunfire that wounded D.C. officer and killed suspect Police identified the officers who fired the shots as Dallas Bennett, an officer since 2018, and Jonathan Hasstedt, who joined the force in January 2023. Emily Davies, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 The Israeli military has been carrying out sporadic strikes there, including a strike on Saturday afternoon that killed 11 people and wounded at least 50 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. D. Parvaz, NPR, 4 Mar. 2024 After his crew chief was severely wounded amid heavy gunfire at low altitudes, General Bahnsen evacuated him, refueled and rearmed. Michael S. Rosenwald, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024 The other two police officers who were wounded in the shooting are expected to recover. Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 The European Union’s diplomatic service said many of the hundreds of Palestinians killed or wounded in the chaos surrounding an aid convoy on Thursday were hit by Israeli army fire and urged an international investigation. Samy Magdy, Twin Cities, 2 Mar. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English wund; akin to Old High German wunta wound

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of wound was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near wound

Cite this Entry

“Wound.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wound. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wound

1 of 3 noun
1
: an injury involving cutting or breaking of bodily tissue (as by violence, accident, or surgery)
2
: an injury to a person's feelings

wound

2 of 3 verb
1
: to hurt by cutting or breaking bodily tissue
the broken glass wounded several people
2
: to hurt the feelings or pride of
his remark wounded her

wound

3 of 3

past and past participle of wind

Medical Definition

wound

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: a physical injury to the body consisting of a laceration or breaking of the skin or mucous membrane often with damage to underlying tissue
has a deep festering knife wound across the palm
a gunshot wound
b
: an opening made in the skin or a membrane of the body incidental to a surgical operation or procedure
infection of a surgical wound
2
: a mental or emotional hurt or blow
emotional wounds of childhood

wound

2 of 2 transitive verb
: to cause a wound to or in

More from Merriam-Webster on wound

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!