Wound up
/ˈwaʊnd ʌp/
Wound up can mean feeling tense or agitated, having ended in a certain way, or being mechanically tightened and ready for use
Examples
- He's always wound up before public speaking
- The clock needs to be wound up every Sunday
- The meeting wound up with a surprise announcement
- We just wound up at a diner after the movie
- The toy doesn't work unless it's wound up first
Meanings
originally referred to physically winding up a device like a clock or toy. By extension, it came to describe people whose emotions were 'tightened' like a spring, leading to a state of tension
Examples
- She was so wound up after the exam that she couldn't sleep
- Don't get wound up over a small mistake
- He's always wound up before public speaking
- The kids got wound up after eating too much candy
- I was wound up all night thinking about the meeting
from the verb 'wind' meaning to turn or coil. 'Wind up' originally meant to coil something tightly. By the 19th century, it extended metaphorically to completing a process, like winding up a clock at the end of its cycle. Later, it came to mean concluding events or ending in a certain state
Examples
- We just wound up at a diner after the movie
- He studied law but wound up becoming a chef
- This paperwork needs to be wound up by Friday
- They wound up missing the train because of traffic
- The meeting wound up with a surprise announcement
directly from the action of winding a mechanism to store energy. The past participle 'wound' comes from Old English windan, meaning to twist or turn
Examples
- The clock needs to be wound up every Sunday
- The toy doesn't work unless it's wound up first
- Make sure the motor is fully wound up before starting
- The spring was wound up too tightly and snapped
- He wound up the old music box and it played a tune