Unwind

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ÊŒnˈwaɪnd/Rhymes: -aɪnd

Origin

From Old English unwindan. See 1st un-, and wind ("to coil").

Full definition of unwind

Verb

1. (transitive) To wind off; to loose or separate; to untwist; to untwine; as, to unwind thread, to unwind a ball of yarnCould you unwind about a foot of ribbon so I can finish the package?
2. (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, ...
3. (intransitive, slang) To relax; to chill out; as, to rest and relieve of stressAfter work, I like to unwind by smoking a pipe while reading the paper.
4. (intransitive) To be or become unwound; to be capable of being unwound or untwisted.

Related terms

• wind