wind down
/waɪnd ˈdaʊn/
"wind-down" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“wind down” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To lower by winding, as with a crank or windlass.
Corpus desk
Index EN-wind-down · wind down · English
wind down · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "W" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | wind down |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /waɪnd ˈdaʊn/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “wind down” in English
Rare enough to double-check
wind down is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /waɪnd ˈdaʊn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for wind down in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is wind down, spelled W-I-N-D- -D-O-W-N.
Definition
- 1To lower by winding, as with a crank or windlass.
- 2To unwind.
- 3To shut down slowly (by degrees or in phases).
- 4To slow, as if coming to an end; to become calmer or less busy.
- 5To relax; to get rid of stress; to destress.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how wind down appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Wind down the car window if you want to talk to me.
You'd better wind down that wind-up toy before you take it apart, or pieces might go flying.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.