wound up

verb

variants also winded up
past tense of wind up
1
as in ended
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stopped
to come to an end her speeches usually wind up with one last joke

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of wound up Three of his downfield passes wound up caught, two by his teammates, and one for an interception. — Ben Gretch, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 By the time Fly entered the booth, they were wound up and thronging the dancefloor. — Stephen Deusner, SPIN, 25 Aug. 2026 Biehn filmed a scene for the sequel after previously playing John’s father, Kyle Reese, a soldier from the future, but the footage wound up on the cutting room floor. — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Aug. 2026 But Cigar, at odds of 1-10, got caught up in a speed duel and wound up losing to a 39-1 long shot named Dare and Go. — Jay Posner, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026 Another person familiar with the event said that organizers had wound up deciding to focus it solely on crypto. — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 2026 Travis wound up in frigid Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2026 The Lanterns premiere ends with no context for how Hal wound up on those bleachers or why his ring didn’t go to John. — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 Cunningham, who rushed at her in response and wound up to strike Carrington before being restrained by her teammates, was not penalized. — Kase Wickman, Vanity Fair, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wound up
  1. ended
  2. stopped
  3. finished
  4. expired
  5. concluded
  6. ceased
  7. wrapped up
  8. halted
Verb
  • Hutton wanted to stay in the game after his playing career ended.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Woodland, who entered the final 18-hole round tied for fourth place, six shots behind eventual champion Wyndham Clark, ended Sunday’s round in that same fourth-place slot with Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup following rounds of 64-65-70-69.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of ended
Verb
  • After loading the AliExpress homepage, audio from his phone stopped playing over his multipoint headphones, which accept connections from more than one device at a time.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026
  • His wife, Sheila, has also stopped working to serve as his full-time caregiver.
    — sameen, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of stopped
Verb
  • The Rattlers finished 4-4 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play in 2025, just two seasons removed from winning the Celebration Bowl and a Black college football national championship.
    — John Devine, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Bullock finished off her look with black strappy sandal heels and Jessica McCormack pendant necklaces.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of finished
Verb
  • The agreement set a 60-day period for a wider peace deal to be negotiated, but that deadline expired with no agreement, and both countries have declared the deal dead.
    — August 24, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Signed after his contract had expired at City, the move for 32-year-old Stones was trademark Giuseppe Marotta.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of expired
Verb
  • At least 15 babies and children from the faith-healing sect died between 2015 and 2025 from illnesses that doctors could have successfully treated, the experts concluded.
    — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Kirk Heilbrun, a forensic psychologist who evaluated Clancy in April, concluded his testimony Tuesday, testifying that Clancy was suffering from a form of bipolar disorder, but could still appreciate that killing her children was wrong.
    — Melina Khan, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of concluded
Verb
  • Chipotle has not used jalapeños from Coast Citrus Distributors since July 20, and Qdoba has ceased using the product since July 28.
    — Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • At moments like that, Out of the Further captures something of the goofy spirit of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street movies, which also sent their characters into dimensions where reason ceased to function and dream logic ruled.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of ceased
Verb
  • Boise State football wrapped up fall camp on Saturday afternoon with its second scrimmage within the space of a week, bringing to a close a grueling 18 days of practices ahead of the start of the season in two weeks.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Allisen Corpuz wrapped up the last automatic place Friday, and Andrea Lee and Alison Lee took spots off the working ranking Sunday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of wrapped up
Verb
  • All the while, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have virtually halted as Tehran clings to its leverage by threatening to strike any unauthorized oil tankers that attempt to transit the narrow waterway.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Competitions were canceled, horse racing fixtures abandoned and international horse transports halted.
    — Danielle Rossingh, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of halted

Browse Nearby Words

wounds
wound up
wove
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Cite this Entry

“Wound up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wound%20up. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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