Unwind
[ʌn'waɪnd] or [,ʌn'waɪnd]
Definition
(verb.) reverse the winding or twisting of; 'unwind a ball of yarn'.
(verb.) separate the tangles of.
Edited by Angelina--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To wind off; to loose or separate, as what or convolved; to untwist; to untwine; as, to unwind thread; to unwind a ball of yarn.
(v. t.) To disentangle.
(v. i.) To be or become unwound; to be capable of being unwound or untwisted.
Edited by Emily
Definition
v.t. to wind down or off.—v.i. to become unwound.
Checked by Jessie
Examples
- He had taken a seat at my work-table; he now laid hands on a reel of thread which he proceeded recklessly to unwind. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- The weight was used to unwind a cord from a barrel. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- When she began to extricate herself it was by turning round and round, and so unwinding the prickly switch. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Unwinding the latter, she produced a small parcel wrapped in dirty newspaper. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- He unwinds the end of his coil that he wants to take some turns on in his boat, and he takes turns enough on it to secure that it shan't run out. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- He unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- I unwound the puttee and while I was doing it I saw there was no need to try and make a tourniquet because he was dead already. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
Editor: Lucia