What does wound mean?
Wound is a versatile English word with two widely used pronunciations and several related meanings. As a noun, /wuːnd/, it refers to an injury in which the body has been damaged by a cut, blow, or other cause. The word also has an important figurative use: a wound may describe emotional pain, damaged trust, or the lasting effects of a painful experience. As a verb meaning “to injure,” wound can refer to physical harm or to serious emotional damage. In the phrase “wound someone deeply,” it conveys lasting hurt. Wound is also the past tense of wind: “She wound the rope around the spool” describes a twisting or coiling action and is pronounced /waʊnd/. Its ability to move between literal injury, emotional hurt, and physical twisting makes it useful in medical language, literature, and everyday speech. The pronunciation is especially important because the spelling represents sounds that are entirely different across its principal meanings.
An injury to the body caused by a cut, blow, or other damage; figuratively, a serious emotional or psychological hurt.
"The old wound on her leg began to ache in cold weather."
The figurative sense is common in literary and emotional contexts, as in “a deep wound” or “a wound to the nation’s pride.”
To injure someone or something physically or emotionally; also, the past tense of wind, meaning to twist or coil something.
"The criticism wounded him deeply."
When used as the past tense of wind, the pronunciation changes to /waʊnd/.
The regular plural of the noun is wounds, as in “the wounds healed slowly.”
"The medic treated several wounds on the soldiers’ arms."
One word, two dramatically different pronunciations: wound can name an injury, or complete the action of twisting something around.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does wound come from?
The noun wound comes from Old English wund, an Old Germanic word for an injury or bodily harm. The related verb meaning “to injure” developed from Old English wundian, while the separate verb wind, meaning “to twist,” comes from Old English windan and has wound as its modern past tense. Modern cognates include German Wunde, Dutch wond, and Swedish sår.
Related word forms
How wound is actually used
The noun is standard in medical, literary, and figurative contexts. The verb meaning “to injure” can be formal or emotional, while the past-tense use with “wind” is usually neutral and describes a twisting or coiling action.
Easily confused with wound
Wound meaning an injury is pronounced /wuːnd/, wound as the past tense of wind is pronounced /waʊnd/, and wind meaning moving air is pronounced /wɪnd/.