unwind
English
Etymology
From Middle English unwinden, from Old English unwindan (“to unwind; unwrap”), from Proto-Germanic *andawindaną (“to unwind”); equivalent to un- + wind (“to coil”). Cognate with Dutch ontwinden (“to unwind”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʌnˈwaɪnd/
- Rhymes: -aɪnd
Verb
unwind (third-person singular simple present unwinds, present participle unwinding, simple past and past participle unwound)
- (transitive) To separate (something that is wound up)
- (transitive, obsolete) To disentangle
- 1836, Richard Hooker, The Works of Richard Hooker, Volume 4, page 27:
- […] but being not so skilful as in every point to unwind themselves where the snares of glossing speech do lie to entangle them, […]
- 1836, Richard Hooker, The Works of Richard Hooker, Volume 4, page 27:
- (intransitive, slang) To relax; to chill out; to rest and relieve of stress
- After work, I like to unwind by smoking a pipe while reading the paper.
- (intransitive) To be or become unwound; to be capable of being unwound or untwisted.
- (transitive, finance) To undo something.
Related terms
Translations
To wind off
To relax
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