From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwind up phrasal verb1 FINISH DOING somethingto bring an activity, meeting etc to an end OK, just to wind up, could I summarize what we’ve decided?wind something ↔ up It’s time to wind things up – I have a plane to catch.2 wind something ↔ upSTOP something THAT IS HAPPENING to close down a company or organization Our operations in Jamaica are being wound up.3 [linking verb] informalEVENTUALLY to be in an unpleasant situation or place after a lot has happened SYN end up in/at/with etc You know you’re going to wind up in court over this.wind up doing something I wound up wishing I’d never come.4 wind somebody ↔ up British EnglishANNOY to deliberately say or do something that will annoy or worry someone, as a joke → tease They’re only winding you up. → wound up5 wind something ↔ up to turn part of a machine around several times, in order to make it move or start working6 wind something ↔ up British English to make something, especially a car window, move up by turning a handle or pressing a button Could you wind the window up, please? → wind→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
wind up• About 40 minutes after the interview starts, the interviewer will signal to you to start winding up.• He was fired and the board would give him no more time to wind up his affairs.• Mark wanted to wind the meeting up quickly because he had a plane to catch.wind things up• It would have been nice for him to wind things up by breaking the back of Britain's opposition to integration.wind in/at/with etc• Those that are particularly good at judging readiness to mate may wind up with a lot more offspring.• How does it happen that an auto writer winds up with a new vehicle with expired plates?• And should you wind up in court, a call to your friend the governor will set things straight.• If a child is picked up three times, his parents may wind up in court.• C., indicates that children of inmates are five times as likely to wind up in prison.• How did you happen to wind up with Raffles hanging out in your closet?• I was not going to wind up in some cozy house with Ellie. wind-upwind-up1 British English, windup American English /ˈwaɪnd ʌp/ noun 1 [countable] British English informalANGRYWORRIED something that you say or do in order to make someone angry or worried, as a joke2 [singular] a series of actions that are intended to complete a process, meeting etc The president made a statement at the windup of the summit in Helsinki.Examples from the Corpus
wind-up• It wasn't that I minded Fenella and I could have had fun doing a wind-up on her parents.• It was a hell of an elaborate plan just for a wind-up.• What if all this was merely a wind-up?• Perhaps it was a wind-up, he thought.• It should have been there by now and its non-appearance is a real wind-up.• Berg tapped into the unpalatable side of public opinion, becoming addicted to verbal wind-ups and hostility with fatal results.wind-upwind-up2 /ˈwaɪnd ʌp/ adjective [only before noun] relating to a machine or toy that you turn part of several times, in order to make it move or start working a wind-up gramophoneExamples from the Corpus
wind-up• Not even for a wind-up gramophone.• Somebody was playing with the clocks, and not only with the electric clocks, but the wind-up kind, too.• Directly in front of him were two wind-up monkeys, one with a tambourine and the other with a drum.• She was a wind-up putting-away doll, clicking through its programmed movements.• The wind-up speech for the Government was made by John Nott.• Estimates show that by the wind-up stage, the corporation would be left with just over 1,900 houses.• If he were a wind-up toy, he would run in an engaging curve backward.• I hang up, feeling like a wind-up toy.From Longman Business Dictionarywind something → up phrasal verb [transitive]1British EnglishCOMMERCE to close down a company, especially because it cannot pay its debtsThe Bank of England presented a petition to the court for an order that the firm be wound up.2to bring something, especially a discussion or meeting, to an endMr Reid wound up the meeting with a summary of the main resolutions. → wind→ See Verb table 