# winch

> English word · Noun · IPA /wɪnt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #27,701

## Definitions
1. A machine consisting of a drum on an axle, a friction brake or ratchet and pawl, and a crank handle or prime mover (often an electric or hydraulic motor), with or without gearing, to give increased mechanical advantage when hoisting or hauling on a rope or cable.
2. A hoisting device used for loading or unloading cargo, or for pulling in lines.
3. A wince (machine used in dyeing or steeping cloth).
4. A kick, as of an animal, from impatience or uneasiness.
5. A witch.

## Etymology
From Middle English wynche, from Old English winċe, from Proto-Germanic *winkijǭ, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *weng- (“to bow, bend, arch, curve”), whence also wink.

## Easily confused with
- **with** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-with)
- **wish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-wish)
- **wind** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-wind)
- **wine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-wine)
- **wins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-wins)
- **wing** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-wing)
- **wink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-wink)
- **Winn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-winn)
- **wings** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-wings)
- **winds** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-winds)
- **witch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-witch)
- **wines** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-wines)
- **windy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-windy)
- **wrench** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/winch-vs-wrench)
- **win** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/win-vs-winch)
- **WIC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wic-vs-winch)
- **wick** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wick-vs-winch)
- **wich** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wich-vs-winch)
- **which** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/which-vs-winch)
- **watch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-winch)

## Common misspellings (8)
`iwnch`, `wicnh`, `wincch`, `winchh`, `winhc`, `winnch`, `wnich`, `wwinch`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/winch