How to Use the Past Tense of Wind (Wind, Winded, or Wound?)

What does the word “wind” mean?

Wind can be a noun or a verb, though pronunciation changes with part of speech. As a noun, it refers to moving air (like breeze or draft). As a verb, to wind (pronounced like whine-d) usually means to wrap something round and round. It can also denote something that curves, as in a 'winding path'.

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In application: wind/wound

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Correct:
She wound the clock back an hour before bed.
The streams winds through thick forest and brush.

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Incorrect:
He winded the tape back to the start.

​Wind as a noun and verb

As a noun: There’s a cold wind coming off the lake.

Wind as a verb:

• To wrap or turn something around: I wound the string around the spool.
• To move along a curving route: The road winds up the mountain.
• Phrasal: to finish or conclude (wind up) or to relax/bring to a close (wind down).

Winded, wound, and pronunciation

The simple past and past participle of the verb wind is wound (pronounced to rhyme with found). Winded usually means out of breath: I'm winded from that hike. Separately, wound (pronounced woon-d) is a noun meaning an injury; context and pronunciation distinguish these senses.

Wind up / wind down (quick guide)

• Wind up: to finish or to cause agitation — e.g., Let's wind up the meeting.
• Wound up (past): describes a tense or agitated state — e.g., She was wound up before the interview.
• Wind down: to relax or gradually end an activity — e.g., We wound down the evening with tea.

Writing-related senses

• Long-winded — overly wordy writing.
• Winding prose — meandering, curving narrative or sentences.
• Wound-up writing — hyphenated descriptor for tense, clipped tone.

Examples:

• "His long-winded writing makes the article tedious."
• "The novel's winding prose mirrors the river that runs through the story."
• "She sounded wound up in her email, so I gave her more time to calm down."
• "The speaker wound down the talk by summarizing the main points."

Wind and wound used in sentence examples

As a noun

• There’s a wind coming in from the bay.
• There isn't enough wind to fly a kite.

As a verb

• The river winds through the forest.
• The stream is winding its way through the woods.
• She suffered a knife wound to her thigh. (different pronunciation/meaning)