wind down

verb

wound down also winded down; winding down; winds down
Synonyms of wind downnext

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

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Zendaya has joined a new project as her memorable year winds down. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026 On the other hand, an agent trained on company context can see the decline, and tell whether this is because the company is deliberately winding down specific segments of the business. — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026 As the session winds down, participants spring to their feet to discuss the evening. — Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 As Mipcom, the annual content market and conference in Cannes, wound down on Wednesday, Lucy Smith, the event’s chief, revealed attendance figures for this year’s edition. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for wind down

Word History

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of wind down was in 1944

Rhymes for wind down

See All Rhymes for wind down

Browse Nearby Words

winddog
wind down
wind drift
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wind down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wind%20down. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All