How to Use windup in a Sentence

windup

1 of 3 noun
  • He went into the windup, then threw the pitch.
  • Her brother's act was just a wind-up to get her angry.
  • Full windup with his right arm.
    — Will Sammon, New York Times, 13 June 2026
  • So this last question has a bit of a windup.
    — Adam B. Vary, Variety, 27 Nov. 2025
  • Buy a couple of in-line, windup timers.
    — Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Whether in the windup or the stretch, there aren’t very many moving parts.
    — Michael Beller, SI.com, 3 May 2018
  • Sandy into his windup and the pitch, a fastball for a strike!
    — Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2021
  • Sandy into his windup and the pitch, a fastball for a strike.
    — Houston Mitchell, latimes.com, 27 Mar. 2018
  • This is a long windup to say, the Beavers should have seen this coming.
    — oregonlive, 20 Feb. 2022
  • Everything out of the stretch and out of the windup feels solid.
    — Nick Piecoro, azcentral, 21 June 2018
  • Semien noted Greinke had switched to a full windup during the at-bat.
    — Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, 8 Aug. 2020
  • Tinplate windups did not require a track, so they could be used anywhere.
    — Brenda Yenke, cleveland.com, 29 Aug. 2019
  • From the windup, long skinny limbs twist toward the plate like a tornado.
    — Jack Harriswriter, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2019
  • Glasses, a beard bordering on bushy and long, flowing hair that waves in his windup.
    — Kirk Kenney, sandiegouniontribune.com, 8 May 2017
  • McAvoy used his bottom (right) hand to push the puck to Haula, rather than take a full windup.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Nov. 2022
  • If a pitcher isn't in his windup before 20 seconds, a ball will be called.
    — Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic, 9 Mar. 2023
  • That’s a key stat against Greinke who is a better pitcher from the windup, with no runners on.
    — Skip Snow, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, 25 Oct. 2019
  • Mann is, first, a supremely gifted storyteller, adept at the slow windup and the rapid turn of the screw.
    — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2022
  • The new windup kept the ball hidden long enough, hitters couldn’t pick up Tiant’s release point.
    — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 29 Mar. 2020
  • Mayor Frank Curran made the first pitch from a full windup, bouncing it.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2021
  • The junior used a deceptive windup and changed speeds to scatter nine hits in eight innings.
    — Dan Albano, Oc Register, 2 June 2026
  • Two and two to Harvey Kuenn, one strike away, Sandy into his windup.
    — Steve Futterman, NPR, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Alas, the windup was better than the pitch because the batters had a hard time getting the donkeys to move at all.
    — Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2021
  • As Alcantara began his slow windup with his head down, Martin broke for the plate.
    — Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, 15 June 2019
  • Welke believed Anderson, with a hitch in his windup, was stepping more toward the dugout.
    — Nick Groke, The Denver Post, 14 Apr. 2017
  • The commissions and many of the windup costs of selling the remaining shares in the fund will be borne by the fundholders.
    — Simon Constable, WSJ, 5 Mar. 2017
  • Then, with runners at the corners, Clase began his windup before stopping and tried to throw to second.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 8 May 2021
  • The researchers likened the experience to a baseball pitcher who tugs on their baseball cap before the windup.
    — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 12 Apr. 2022
  • For another, there’s his delivery, which features a hands-over-the-head windup that feels just as old-fashioned as the mustache.
    — Si.com Staff, SI.com, 4 June 2018
  • The folks at ApolloHou even made a T-shirt diagramming the steps of the windup.
    — Matt Young, Chron, 29 Oct. 2021

windup

2 of 3 adjective
  • She has an old windup record player in her attic.
  • The nickname of Dune’s younger brother, David, came from a windup grandfather clock in the house.
    — John Kelly, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2022
  • She is perched on a wooden chair on stage as the audience finds their seats, shuttled around like a slow-moving windup car on a child’s racetrack.
    — Chloe Schama, Vogue, 10 Mar. 2023
  • At the moment, though, Tom Cruise is running in a straight line down the middle of a long air-terminal rooftop, pumping his arms like a windup toy.
    — Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 5 July 2023
  • Say goodbye to Rooster Teeth’s longstanding rebus-style logo of the rooster and the windup chattering teeth.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 22 Mar. 2023
  • First captured in a painting in 1899, Nipper is the dog in the old RCA logo, the one listening to a windup cylinder phonograph.
    — WIRED, 17 Nov. 2023

wind up

3 of 3 verb
  • How did this one wind up in your hands?
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Breezy with west winds up to 23 mph.
    — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025
  • The best answers could wind up in print.
    — Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 29 Aug. 2025
  • The pitcher winds up and throws.
    — Adam Annaccone, The Conversation, 22 June 2026
  • Abreu wound up grounding out on the play.
    — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Which wound up not being the case?
    — Gary Graff, Billboard, 25 Oct. 2025
  • None of the three would wind up on the album.
    — Dan Kois, Pitchfork, 17 May 2026
  • And how did that blast wind up in this column?
    — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 29 May 2026
  • So how’d that long ball wind up in this column?
    — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 5 June 2026
  • This doesn’t wind up being a bad thing, though.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
  • The partner who gets the home can wind up house poor.
    — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
  • This month’s titles start out strong and wind up even stronger.
    — Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Well, Simpson was wound up in knots.
    — Michael Pressman, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Mainly cloudy with winds up to 15 mph.
    — Mars King, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2026
  • The French team wound up with a silver medal.
    — Dave Skretta, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Georgia wound up fourth with 56.
    — Dave Skretta, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Rockvale holds a big key to how the region winds up.
    — Cecil Joyce, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The low will be about 40, with winds up to 23 mph.
    — Shannon Tyler, Idaho Statesman, 24 Oct. 2025
  • But amid the journey, the sextet wind up in jail.
    — Greta Cross, USA Today, 16 June 2026
  • Takagi wound up with the bronze this time.
    — Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
  • There is more, as events and people wind up back in Wheaton.
    — Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Maybe none of that winds up mattering.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Whether that winds up being the case, only time will tell.
    — Evan Bell, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Aldridge himself wound up in fistfights in the streets.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 May 2026
  • Abel wound up giving up five runs on eight hits while walking four.
    — Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Their ugly dispute wound up in court.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 21 Mar. 2026
  • The pick to the Heat wound up being the last of those three slots.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2026
  • That way, all parties wind up winning.
    — Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Adamiak wound up quitting her job.
    — Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026
  • The big question is just what comes next and who winds up in charge in Venezuela?
    — Scott Pelley, CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'windup.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: