Meaning trap
wind up
annoy or tease someone
to deliberately tease, annoy, or provoke someone, often in a playful or irritating way.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
to deliberately tease, annoy, or provoke someone, often in a playful or irritating way.
'wind up' also has the more basic meaning 'finish something'; this is the advanced sense.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
He loves to wind his little sister up by hiding her toys.
While some people enjoy winding others up as a form of humour, this behaviour can easily cross the line and cause genuine irritation.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: Stop winding up me.
Say: Stop winding me up.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'wind me up'.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'Wind up' (BrE) is the everyday verb for teasing or provoking someone; 'deliberately provoking for amusement' is formal.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
wind up + person
- me up
- your brother
- on purpose
- just to annoy
Don't confuse it
Related
Other meanings and phrases to compare.
- wind up (finish something) — 'wind up' also has the more basic meaning 'finish something'; this is the advanced sense.