From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwinchwinch1 /wɪntʃ/ noun [countable] TEMa machine with a rope or chain for lifting heavy objects
Examples from the Corpus
winch• Clayt slipped on insulated gloves and leaned over and grabbed a blue flag and looped its rope to a winch.• I am intrigued by the capstan winches fitted to the Range Rovers on the Darien Gap crossing.• Hanging from hooks on the wall were sets of wire-pulling devices, complete with chain winch and gripper.• The only winches which will fit are either electrically or hydraulically powered.• He folded up sideways against the winch, and immediately tried to get up again.• This may cause an abnormally slow launch and the winch driver, seeing the other parachute, may cut the power.• This is not critical because at this point the winch driver is adjusting the power.• The winch man was running out the cable, allowing the barrage balloon to rise.winchwinch2 verb [transitive always + adverb/preposition] LIFTto lift something or someone up using a winch The two men were winched out of the sinking boat by an RAF helicopter.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
winch• Some ten minutes later, a breathless Challenger stood by my side as the bell was winched aboard.• The State winched him out of the professorial chair when the ecclesiastical authority was lukewarm.• He winched in hard and let go the lashings round the rolled bedsheets.• Pottz drove for the peak and was winched irresistibly upwards.• They could let down extra wires to hold the branch and winch it up when it was cut free.• When canal boats are taken out of the water for repairs they are winched sideways up a slipway.• Two crew members of the Glenmore were winched to safety by helicopter shortly before their vessel went down.Origin winch1 Old English wince 