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

Nothing is set in stone just yet because the broadcast season runs through May, and more data will come available in the next few weeks as series begin to wind down. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026

Now the debate seems to be winding down with the latest experimental measurements, described in two recent papers published in the journals Nature and Physical Review Letters, respectively. —ArsTechnica, 14 Apr. 2026

As the show began to wind down, Gaga opened up to the crowd about what the world tour (her biggest in years) has meant to her. —Jeff Nelson, PEOPLE, 14 Apr. 2026

California has six major refineries remaining, with Valero’s Benicia refinery scheduled to wind down in April. —Chaewon Chung april 13, Sacbee.com, 14 Apr. 2026

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