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

Synonyms of wind down

• relax
• chill out

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

His teammates joked with him and pushed him as the game wound down to no avail. —Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 12 Nov. 2025

The company is now winding down sans financial support from the studio. —Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2025

Though some construction projects are winding down for the season, several others are still in full swing and will bring road closures to the Milwaukee area through the winter. —Cailey Gleeson, jsonline.com, 12 Nov. 2025

The Department of Transportation is still requiring airlines to reduce flight schedules by 10% at 40 major airports nationwide, even as the government shutdown winds down. —Zach Wichter, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for wind down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown