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overwind. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
overwind, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
overwind in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
overwind you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology 1
From over- + wind.
Pronunciation
Verb
overwind (third-person singular simple present overwinds, present participle overwinding, simple past and past participle overwound)
- (transitive) To wind (tighten a spring of) something excessively.
1989 July 4, Jacquin Sanders, “What makes a watchmaker tick?”, in St. Petersburg Times:People also come in full of misgivings about "overwinding" their watches. "You can't overwind a watch - you can only underwind it," said McKelvey.
1996 April 21, Jenny Gilbert, “Golden oldies reveal the three faces of Ashton”, in The Independent:In a typical Morris cock-snook at classical technique, tutu-ed dancers prance Bambi-like across the stage. On and off, on and off, with fixed smiles like overwound clockwork dolls: it should have been charming and funny, but despite stylish individual efforts, the ragged ensemble meant the joke fell flat.
2000 December 16, Dennis Roddy, “The unbearable lightness of being Al Gore”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:I met him 10 years ago in a hallway in Harrisburg and departed with the image of a man whose psyche approximated a badly overwound clock: Everything is tight and in place, but nothing's moving.
- To twist itself more tightly.
2006 August 7, “Surprise Finding for Stretched DNA. ”, in Ascribe Higher Education News Service:DNA's helical structure implies that twisting and stretching should be coupled, hence the prediction that DNA should unwind when stretched […] That is why it was such surprise when we directly measured twist-stretch coupling to find instead DNA overwinds when stretched.
Noun
overwind (plural overwinds)
- Synonym of overwinding
1892, Transactions of the Federated Institution of Mining Engineers, page 55:They are intended to prevent the cage falling back in case the rope breaks or in case an overwind occurs.
Etymology 2
From over- + wind.
Pronunciation
Noun
overwind (countable and uncountable, plural overwinds)
- (rare) Excessive wind; a movement of such atmospheric air caused by air pressure.
- A wind that moves over or above an object.