as in ending
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1
as in finishing
to bring (an event) to a natural or appropriate stopping point
try to wind up the performance, as we're almost out of time
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stopping
to come to an end
her speeches usually wind up with one last joke
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Recent Examples of winding up
Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
Newsom is winding up eight years as governor with a mixed record at best.
—Tom Philp, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
The water is naturally filtered in the wetlands before winding up back in the reservoirs.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Oct. 2025
Bianka could be seen winding up and then throwing an impressive pitch down the plate at Dodgers Stadium to be caught by right fielder Mookie Betts, in a video shared on X by a Los Angeles Lakers fan account.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 9 Aug. 2025
The Biden administration took a more restrictive approach toward the export of American AI, primarily through limits on chip sales that sought to prevent the key hardware from winding up in the hands of foreign adversaries such as China.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 30 July 2025
Verb
But even as the mayor’s initiative brings more people indoors, a growing number are winding up back on the street.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2026
Newsom is winding up eight years as governor with a mixed record at best.
—Tom Philp, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026
The water is naturally filtered in the wetlands before winding up back in the reservoirs.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Oct. 2025
Bianka could be seen winding up and then throwing an impressive pitch down the plate at Dodgers Stadium to be caught by right fielder Mookie Betts, in a video shared on X by a Los Angeles Lakers fan account.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 9 Aug. 2025
The Biden administration took a more restrictive approach toward the export of American AI, primarily through limits on chip sales that sought to prevent the key hardware from winding up in the hands of foreign adversaries such as China.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 30 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winding up
Verb
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However, Richey escaped any further damage with an inning-ending strikeout.—
Mike Waters,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Apr. 2026
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This one, coming off the back of two hugely disappointing, trophy-ending, and potentially derailing defeats, was one of their best of the season.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Peanut cannot smell, but caregivers say that limitation does not appear to be stopping him from adjusting to his new surroundings.—
Cierra Morgan,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
-
There are 81 rooms in total, ranging from classic doubles to one-bedroom apartments, while the show-stopping penthouse suite has a dining table for eight, a dressing room and an enormous 130-square-metre rooftop terrace with a private sauna and cold plunge pool overlooking Fitzrovia.—
Siobhan Grogan,
TheWeek,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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European markets’ Tuesday oscillations followed a four-day Easter break, after finishing Thursday’s session in mixed territory.—
Hugh Leask,Joseph Wilkins,
CNBC,
7 Apr. 2026
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Just this week a former Miami player, Tonye Jekiri, who is finishing a 10-year pro career in Serbia, called Larrañaga about talking with a school administrator for his next career.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Antetokounmpo is in the first year of a three-year, $175 million deal, but next season, he will be viewed as an expiring contract, wielding the power to decline the Year 3 player option to enter unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2027.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
7 Apr. 2026
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In that sense, the outcome mirrors the party’s last shutdown fight, when Democrats demanded an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies but ultimately reopened the government without securing them, prompting frustration within their ranks.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After wrapping up in Arizona, the Braves head to Anaheim for a three-game set.—
Tyler Estep,
AJC.com,
3 Apr. 2026
-
March Madness Final Four is here The 2026 NCAA Tournament is wrapping up!—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces occupied the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, concluding a three-decade conflict that had claimed more than three million lives.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
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Department hydrologists told The Associated Press of the dismal, record-low snowpack after concluding their field assessments late Tuesday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Garden centers aren't giving a refund for a dying or dead plant but rather a discount on a new purchase.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
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In practice, that involved ceasing to provide links or recommendations to official Potter events and products and committing themselves to directly countering the misinformation Rowling was spreading to her vast online audience.—
Séamas O'Reilly,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
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Without ever ceasing to be an artist.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winding up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winding%20up. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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