wound
/ˈwund/noun, verb
wound is spelled W-O-U-N-D: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wound means “An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a (usually external) part of the body” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wound is wounds.
How many letters and syllables are in wound?
| Letters | 5: W-O-U-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,752nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is wound?
Wound appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce wound?
- UK /ˈwuːnd/
- British /ˈwʉwnd/
- US /ˈwund/
As a verb: /ˈwaʊ̯nd/, [ˈwaʊ̯nd], /wawnd/.
Wound has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-wound-injury.ogg, En-us-wound-turned.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of wound
- wounds plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- wounding participle, present
- wounded participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wound mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a (usually external) part of the body.
- 2
A hurt to a person's feelings, reputation, prospects, etc.
It took a long time to get over the wound of that insult.
- 3
An injury to a person by which the skin is divided or its continuity broken.
verb
- 1
To hurt or injure (someone) by cutting, piercing, or tearing the skin.
The police officer wounded the suspect during the fight that ensued.
- 2
To hurt (a person's feelings).
The actor's pride was wounded when the leading role went to his rival.
- 3
simple past and past participle of wind
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wound in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | blessure, plaie , offense , lésion , blesser , offenser |
| German | Wunde, Verletzung , verletzen, verwunden |
| Portuguese | ferimento, ferida, lesão, mágoa, machucado, chaga |
| Spanish | herida, llaga, ferida, nafra , herir, lesionar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does wound come from?
Noun from Middle English wund, from Old English wund, from Proto-West Germanic *wundu, from Proto-Germanic *wundō (“wound”), from Proto-Indo-European *wen- (“to strive, toil, win”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).