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

wound up also winded up; winding up; winds up

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

In the windup to Slack’s listing, Accel converted about a quarter of its Slack holdings to common stock, allowing it to sell that portion of its shares. — Lizette Chapman, Fortune, "This VC Firm Invested $200 Million in Slack. Now Its Stake Is Worth $4.6 Billion," 21 June 2019 As Alcantara began his slow windup with his head down, Martin broke for the plate. — Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Tigers strike out 15 times in 4-2 loss to Indians," 15 June 2019 With that in mind, Huntley pitcher Briana Bower finished her windup and unleashed a riseball. — Paul Johnson, Elgin Courier-News, "Tower of Bower: Sophomore pitcher Briana Bower strikes out 15 as Huntley reaches state for first time," 4 June 2019 Using a side windup, Army veteran Frank Anderson threw a strike to Redbirds manager Stubby Clapp. — Charlotte Carroll, SI.com, "WATCH: 104-year-old World War II Veteran Throws Out First Pitch at Memphis Redbirds Game," 5 July 2018 Vail threw every pitch of the final four innings out of the windup Sunday in leading Gloucester Catholic to a 5-2 victory over St. Augustine in the Coaches vs. Cancer showcase. — Phil Anastasia, Philly.com, "Pitcher Andrew Vail powers Gloucester Catholic past St. Augustine," 29 Apr. 2018 Taillon had a relatively traditional windup the first two years of his career, but this season starts with his feet parallel to the rubber before taking a short step backward with his left foot and going into his delivery. — Michael Beller, SI.com, "How the Pirates' Jameson Taillon Reached His Ace Potential Without Changing a Thing," 25 Apr. 2018 The sculptor will capture Hoffman mid-windup, complete with the right-hander’s familiar high leg kick. — Dennis Lin, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Padres to unveil Trevor Hoffman statue at Petco Park this summer," 26 Jan. 2018 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

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Where the travelers ultimately wind up—in Italy, in the United States, in a deportation cell, or left to die in the desert or to drown in the sea—is outside the Boss’s purview. — Robert Draper, National Geographic, "Surrounded by chaos, Niger is a nation on the edge," 17 June 2019 That’s the bad and the good of the tactic, but those who practice it steadily wind up earning big checks in bass tournaments with surprising regularity. — Frank Sargeant, al.com, "Hey anglers, don’t forget flippin’ as spring turns into summer," 12 June 2019 This month, Destination Cleveland will wind up the program's first year. — Marc Bona, cleveland.com, "Blossom food, Pizza Palooza, brewery-passport program: WTAM chat," 12 June 2019 While few people really understood Einstein’s new theory, his views about everything from extraterrestrial life on Mars (nonexistent) to Prohibition (no opinion) wound up in the papers. — Devin Powell, Discover Magazine, "How the 1919 Solar Eclipse Made Einstein the World's Most Famous Scientist," 24 May 2019 The really clever bit is this: When the seat is swiveled and locked into position, that action winds up a spring attached to the seat's belts. — Alexander Stoklosa, Car and Driver, "Mercedes-Benz's Car Seat Prototype Will Make Children Safer," 21 May 2019 Rogers may wind up wearing glitzy Rodarte to her next gig or maybe a vintage velvet blazer. — Brooke Bobb, Vogue, "Maggie Rogers’s Personal Style Is a Mix of a “Space Cowgirl and San Francisco Art Teacher”—She Tells Us Why," 18 Mar. 2019 In fact, Couturier may wind up the only Flyer to crack even 25 goals. — Geoff Baker, The Seattle Times, "Former Everett Silvertips goalie Carter Hart putting on one-man show to keep Philadelphia Flyers in playoff hunt," 11 Feb. 2019 Spitballing off how the GeForce RTX 2080 and 2080 Ti compare to their predecessors, the GeForce RTX 2070 might wind up matching the performance of the GTX 1080 in traditional games. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2070 launches on October 17. Will ray traced games be ready?," 25 Sep. 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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Last Updated

27 Jun 2019

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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

British, informal : 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