windup

noun

wind·up | \ ˈwīnd-ˌəp

Definition of windup

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : the act of bringing to an end

b : a concluding act or part : finish

2a : a series of regular and distinctive motions (such as swinging the arms) made by a pitcher preparatory to releasing a pitch

b : an exaggerated backswing (as in tennis)

windup

adjective

Definition of windup (Entry 2 of 3)

: operated by a spring mechanism wound by hand

wind up

verb

Definition of wind up (Entry 3 of 3)

transitive verb

1 : to bring to a conclusion : end

2a : to put in order for the purpose of bringing to an end winds up the meeting

b British : to effectuate the winding up of

intransitive verb

1a : to come to a conclusion

b : to arrive in a place, situation, or condition at the end or as a result of a course of action wound up as millionaires

2 : to make a pitching windup

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about windup

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Examples of windup in a Sentence

Noun

the windup of the negotiations He went into the windup, then threw the pitch. a pitcher with an unusual windup Her brother's act was just a wind-up to get her angry.

Adjective

She has an old windup record player in her attic.

Verb

try to wind up the performance, as we're almost out of time her speeches usually wind up with one last joke

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The motion on McEnroe’s serve is still the same — the slow windup, the left-handed delivery. — Kurt Streeter, New York Times, "Cheering John McEnroe in Paris Never Gets Old," 9 June 2018 For another, there’s his delivery, which features a hands-over-the-head windup that feels just as old-fashioned as the mustache. — Si.com Staff, SI.com, "Nine Innings: The Indians' Surprisingly Bad Bullpen, the State of the NL West and Culberson's Magic," 4 June 2018 Three times, Ensberg bluffed down the line with Gillespie timing the pitcher's windup, measuring Ensberg's jumps. — Mike Digiovanna, latimes.com, "For retiring baseball coach Mike Gillespie, it's been a career filled with guts and glory," 18 May 2018 Sandy into his windup and the pitch, a fastball for a strike. — Houston Mitchell, latimes.com, "Dodgers Dugout: The 25 greatest Dodgers of all time, No. 3: Vin Scully," 27 Mar. 2018 Elieser Hernandez stumbled and fell during his windup without the ball ever leaving his hand. — Clark Spencer, miamiherald, "Mistakes come back to haunt Marlins in loss to Arizona," 26 June 2018 Reus stopped the ball and stepped back as Kroos took his full windup and curled a shot that went over two defenders, around goalkeeper Robin Olsen and then inside the right post. — Andrew Das, New York Times, "Germany’s World Cup Is Saved in the Blink of an Eye (and Flick of a Foot)," 24 June 2018 Everything out of the stretch and out of the windup feels solid. — Nick Piecoro, azcentral, "Arizona Diamondbacks' Shelby Miller set to make return from elbow surgery," 21 June 2018 Pitching from the stretch position would limit the amount of movement Chatwood generates from a full windup, which makes him susceptible to mechanical flaws. — Mark Gonzales, chicagotribune.com, "Cubs considering having Tyler Chatwood pitch exclusively from stretch position," 28 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Or that child could wind up at a converted motel along a tired Tucson, Arizona, strip of discount stores, gas stations and budget motels. — BostonGlobe.com, "A migrant child’s days in detention included cleaning toilets," 14 July 2018 Thus, without additional reforms, single-payer could wind up enabling a massive set of corporate subsidies in the name of, well, democratic socialism. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Medicare for All Won’t Bring Medicare to All," 13 July 2018 If, as many economists expect, the airport proves grander than the flow of passengers, the public will wind up with the bill. — New York Times, "Turkey’s Economy Is So Hot That It May Face a Meltdown," 10 July 2018 Enceladus has a subsurface ocean and shoots jets of water vapor that becomes ionized (stripped of some atoms) and wind up circling Saturn. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Saturn and Its Moon Enceladus Talk To Each Other. The Sound Is Perfectly Cosmic and Eerie.," 10 July 2018 Should Anthony wind up as a free agent, the Heat likely would be limited to no more than a bid of the $5.3 million taxpayer mid-level exception, a figure that the Heat also may have to instead utilize for a potential return by Dwyane Wade. — Ira Winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Heat linked to Carmelo Anthony exodus from Thunder," 6 July 2018 But the 2018 Tigers, as one example, might wind up outside the Top 10 in the 2019 Draft because so many other clubs are losing more effectively. — Ted Berg, For The Win, "The American League postseason races could be historically boring," 5 July 2018 Then wind up nailing $24 million from investors this month for a new incarnation of your pioneering, direct-to-consumer Italian shoe brand. — Dana Kennedy, The Hollywood Reporter, "Cannes Lions: Footware Queen Tamara Mellon on Rehab, Bankruptcy and Reinvention at 50," 19 June 2018 Not all of these innovations will wind up in consumer-facing devices, at least not for a while. — Brian Barrett, WIRED, "It's Time to Get Excited About the Future of PCs. (Yes, PCs)," 8 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'windup.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Statistics for windup

Last Updated

22 Aug 2018

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Time Traveler for windup

The first known use of windup was in 1583

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More Definitions for windup

windup

noun

English Language Learners Definition of windup

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the things that are done at the end of something (such as an event or process) : the final part of something

baseball : the movements that a pitcher makes before the ball is thrown

wind-up : something done or said in usually a joking way to make someone annoyed or upset

windup

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of windup (Entry 2 of 2)

: having a motor that is given power when someone turns a handle

windup

noun

wind·up | \ ˈwīnd-ˌəp

Kids Definition of windup

1 : the last part of something : finish

2 : a swing of a baseball pitcher's arm before the pitch is thrown

wind up

transitive verb

wound up; winding up

Legal Definition of wind up

: to bring to an end by taking care of unfinished business ordered to wind up his practice specifically : to conclude by removing liabilities and distributing any remaining assets to partners or shareholders wind up the business and affairs of a corporation in dissolution wind up a receivership