unwind
/ʌnˈwaɪnd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.09 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "to unwind a ball of yarn"
- "Could you unwind about a foot of ribbon so I can finish the package?"
- "[…]but being not so skilful as in every point to unwind themselves where the snares of glossing speech do lie to entangle them,[…]"
- "After work, I like to unwind by smoking a pipe while reading the paper."
- "If the expression is a throw, we unwind the stack seeking a handler expression."
- "The NEWPC argument specifies the address to which control should be returned after the unwind is complete. If it is omitted, its default is for control to return to the PC saved in the call frame next outermost to the unwound ones."
Etymology
From Middle English unwinden, from Old English unwindan (“to unwind; unwrap”), from Proto-Germanic *andawindaną (“to unwind”); equivalent to un- + wind (“to coil”). Cognate with Dutch ontwinden (“to unwind”).