Wend vs. Wind — What's the Difference?

Often used in the phrase “wend one’s way.”

To coil or wrap something around an object.

Implies a leisurely or meandering progression.

Metaphorical in describing pathways or procedures.

To go in a specified direction, usually by a slight or indirect route.

Movement of air from areas of high to low pressure.

Literary or formal usage.

To turn or twist something, especially to set machinery in motion.

Sometimes metaphorical, indicating life or career paths.

To come to an end, typically used in the phrase “wind up.”

Go in a specified direction, typically slowly or by an indirect route

Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Wind occurs on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hours, to global winds resulting from the difference in absorption of solar energy between the climate zones on Earth.

Another term for Sorb

Moving air, especially a natural and perceptible movement of air parallel to or along the ground.

Any of a group of Slavic peoples formerly inhabiting much of what is now eastern Germany and western Poland, especially the present-day Sorbs.

A movement of air generated artificially, as by bellows or a fan.

Any of various other non-Germanic peoples living in central Europe during late antiquity and the Middle Ages.

The direction from which a movement of air comes

To proceed on or along; go

A movement of air coming from one of the four cardinal points of the compass

To go one's way; proceed.

Moving air carrying sound, an odor, or a scent.

To turn; change, to adapt.

Breath, especially normal or adequate breathing; respiration

(transitive) To direct (one's way or course); pursue one's way; proceed upon some course or way.

Gas produced in the stomach or intestines during digestion; flatulence.

To turn; make a turn; go round; veer.

The brass and woodwinds sections of a band or orchestra.

To pass away; disappear; depart; vanish.

Wind instruments or their players considered as a group.

A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit

Woodwinds.

To go; to pass; to betake one's self.

Something that disrupts or destroys

To turn round.

A tendency; a trend

To direct; to betake; - used chiefly in the phrase to wend one's way. Also used reflexively.

Information, especially of something concealed; intimation

A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit.

Speech or writing empty of meaning; verbiage

Direct one's course or way;

Vain self-importance; pomposity

The act of winding.

A single turn, twist, or curve.

To expose to free movement of air; ventilate or dry.

To detect the smell of; catch a scent of.

To pursue by following a scent.

To cause to be out of or short of breath.

To afford a recovery of breath

To wrap (something) around a center or another object once or repeatedly

To wrap or encircle (an object) in a series of coils; entwine

To go along (a curving or twisting course)

To proceed on (one's way) with a curving or twisting course.

To introduce in a disguised or devious manner; insinuate

To turn (a crank, for example) in a series of circular motions.

To coil the spring of (a mechanism) by turning a stem or cord, for example

To coil (thread, for example), as onto a spool or into a ball.

To remove or unwind (thread, for example), as from a spool

To lift or haul by means of a windlass or winch

To move in or have a curving or twisting course

To move in or have a spiral or circular course

To be coiled or spiraled

To be twisted or whorled into curved forms.

To proceed misleadingly or insidiously in discourse or conduct.

To become wound

To blow (a wind instrument).

To sound by blowing.

Real or perceived movement of atmospheric air usually caused by convection or differences in air pressure.

Air artificially put in motion by any force or action.

The ability to breathe easily.

News of an event, especially by hearsay or gossip. (Used with catch, often in the past tense.)

One of the five basic elements in Indian and Japanese models of the Classical elements.

Flatus.

Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument.

(music) The woodwind section of an orchestra. Occasionally also used to include the brass section.

A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points, which are often called the "four winds".

Types of playing-tile in the game of mah-jongg, named after the four winds.

A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing.

Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words.

A bird, the dotterel.

The region of the solar plexus, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury.

The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist.

(transitive) To blow air through a wind instrument or horn to make a sound.

(transitive) To cause (someone) to become breathless, as by a blow to the abdomen, or by physical exertion, running, etc.

To cause a baby to bring up wind by patting its back after being fed.

To turn a boat or ship around, so that the wind strikes it on the opposite side.

(transitive) To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate.

(transitive) To perceive or follow by scent.

(transitive) To rest (a horse, etc.) in order to allow the breath to be recovered; to breathe.

(transitive) To turn a windmill so that its sails face into the wind.

(transitive) To turn coils of (a cord or something similar) around something.

(transitive) To tighten the spring of a clockwork mechanism such as that of a clock.

(transitive) To entwist; to enfold; to encircle.

(intransitive) To travel in a way that is not straight.

(transitive) To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter or will; to regulate; to govern.

(transitive) To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate.

(transitive) To cover or surround with something coiled about.

(transitive) To cause to move by exerting a winding force; to haul or hoist, as by a winch.

To turn (a ship) around, end for end.

To turn completely, or with repeated turns; especially, to turn about something fixed; to cause to form convolutions about anything; to coil; to twine; to twist; to wreathe; as, to wind thread on a spool or into a ball.

To entwist; to infold; to encircle.

To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter or will; to regulate; to govern.

To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate.

To cover or surround with something coiled about; as, to wind a rope with twine.

To turn completely or repeatedly; to become coiled about anything; to assume a convolved or spiral form; as, vines wind round a pole.

To have a circular course or direction; to crook; to bend; to meander; as, to wind in and out among trees.

To go to the one side or the other; to move this way and that; to double on one's course; as, a hare pursued turns and winds.

To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate.

To perceive or follow by the scent; to scent; to nose; as, the hounds winded the game.

To drive hard, or force to violent exertion, as a horse, so as to render scant of wind; to put out of breath.

The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist; a winding.

Air naturally in motion with any degree of velocity; a current of air.

Air artificially put in motion by any force or action; as, the wind of a cannon ball; the wind of a bellows.

Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument.

Power of respiration; breath.

Air or gas generated in the stomach or bowels; flatulence; as, to be troubled with wind.

Air impregnated with an odor or scent.

A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points, which are often called the four winds.

A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing.

Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words.

The dotterel.

The region of the pit of the stomach, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury; the mark.

Air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure;

A tendency or force that influences events;

Breath;

Empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk;

An indication of potential opportunity;

A musical instrument in which the sound is produced by an enclosed column of air that is moved by the breath

A reflex that expels intestinal gas through the anus

The act of winding or twisting;

To move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course;

Extend in curves and turns;

Wrap or coil around;

Catch the scent of; get wind of;

Coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem;

Form into a wreath

Raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help;

Common phrases include "wind up a clock" and "wind down an event."

Wend implies a slower, more leisurely pace.

Yes, it refers to natural air movement and the mechanical process of coiling.

As a noun, it refers to moving air; as a verb, it refers to coiling or twisting.

Yes, synonyms include meander, roam, or wander.

Wend describes an indirect or meandering type of movement.

Wend is less common and more likely to be found in formal or literary contexts.

It means to proceed slowly and often indirectly towards a destination.

Yes, like in "wind up," which means to conclude or finish something.

The verb form (to coil or twist) is unrelated to the natural phenomenon described by the noun (air movement).

Wind is appropriate when discussing weather, mechanical actions, or describing routes.

It signifies bringing something to a conclusion.

It comes from Old English "wendan," which means to turn or change direction.

Wend is more poetic or narrative, while wind can be used more broadly.

Yes, it can metaphorically describe life or career paths.