wind up — 3 meanings

One phrase, 3 meanings. Learn them one at a time, then test yourself.

phrasal verb3 meanings

wind up

1finish something 2end up in a situation (often unintentionally)3annoy or tease someone

Meaning 1 · most common

finish something

wind up sth

to bring something to an end, especially a meeting, event, or activity.

How oftenCommon

LevelB1

Used inSpeech & writing

Examples

Let's wind up the meeting so everyone can get home on time.

A: Are we almost done?
B: Yeah, let's wind up and head out for lunch.

Common mistake

Not: Let's wind up ~~with~~ the meeting.

Say: Let's wind up the meeting.

'Wind up' takes the object directly — no 'with'.

More on “finish something”Another example · Tell it apart · Goes with · Tip

Another example

In my opinion, it's important to wind up group projects with a clear summary so everyone knows what was achieved.

Tell it apart

Let's wind up the meeting.

bring it to an end

I wound up exhausted.

ended up — sense

Goes with

wind up + event

Practice saying this

Next meaning: end up in a situation (often unintentionally)

Meaning 2

end up in a situation (often unintentionally)

wind up (doing sth
informal

to find yourself in a particular situation, especially one you did not plan or expect.

How oftenCommon

LevelB2

Used inMostly spoken

Examples

We took a wrong turn and wound up in a completely different town.

A: How did you wind up working in Australia?
B: Honestly, it just sort of happened after I went there on holiday.

Common mistake

Not: I ~~wind~~ up ~~to pay~~ for everything.

Say: I wound up paying for everything.

'Wind up + -ing', not a to-infinitive; past tense is 'wound up'.

More on “end up in a situation (often unintentionally)”Another example · Tell it apart · Goes with · Tip

Another example

Sometimes, people wind up living in cities they never expected because of job opportunities or family reasons.

Tell it apart

We wound up staying in.

ended up — unplanned

We wound up the meeting.

finished it — sense

Goes with

wind up + outcome

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Next meaning: annoy or tease someone

Meaning 3

annoy or tease someone

wind sb up
informal

to deliberately tease, annoy, or provoke someone, often in a playful or irritating way.

How oftenNow and then

LevelB2

Used inMostly spoken

Examples

He loves to wind his little sister up by hiding her toys.

A: Why does Sarah look so annoyed?
B: Oh, Tom's been winding her up about her new haircut all morning.

Common mistake

Not: Stop winding ~~up me.~~

Say: Stop winding me up.

With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'wind me up'.

More on “annoy or tease someone”Another example · Tell it apart · Goes with · Tip

Another example

While some people enjoy winding others up as a form of humour, this behaviour can easily cross the line and cause genuine irritation.

Tell it apart

Stop winding me up.

provoking / teasing me

Let's wind up the meeting.

finish it — sense

Goes with

wind up + person

Practice saying this

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finish something end up in a situation (often unintentionally)annoy or tease someone