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un·wind (ŭn-wīnd)
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v. un·wound(ŭn-wound), un·wind·ing, un·winds
v. tr.
1. To reverse the winding or twisting of: unwind a ball of yarn.
2. To separate the tangled parts of; disentangle.
3. To free (someone) of nervous tension or pent-up energy.
4. Business To back off from (a stated policy or financial commitment): “The US was preparing to unwind its asset purchase programme as the economy picked up” (Elaine Moore).
v. intr.
1. To become unwound.
2. To become free of nervous tension; relax: liked to unwind with a cocktail before dinner.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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