Winch Meaning
/wɪnt͡ʃ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA machine consisting of a drum on an axle, a friction brake or ratchet and pawl, and a crank handle or prime mover (often an electric or hydraulic motor), with or without gearing, to give increased mechanical advantage when hoisting or hauling on a rope or cable.
nounA hoisting device used for loading or unloading cargo, or for pulling in lines.
Sentence Examples
I've never used a winch before. Could you show me how?
I've never used a winch before.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The workers used a powerful ____ to pull the car out of the ditch.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The workers used a mechanical ____ to lift the heavy boxes from the ground to the upper floor of the warehouse today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English wynche, from Old English winċe, from Proto-Germanic *winkijǭ, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *weng- (“to bow, bend, arch, curve”), whence also wink.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It runs on clattering steel tracks; the driver sits in a cab over the tracks, operating the controls that rotate the arm and turn the winch."
— 2013, J. M. Coetzee, chapter 27, in The Childhood of Jesus, Melbourne, Australia: The Text Publishing Company, page 267:
"the mule[…]being likewise frighted by that terrible blow, ran away as fast as it could about the fields, and within two or three winches overthrew him to the ground"
— 1612–1620, [Miguel de Cervantes], translated by Thomas Shelton, The History of the Valorous and Wittie Knight-errant Don-Quixote of the Mancha. […], London: […] William Stansby, for Ed[ward] Blount and W. Barret, →OCLC:
"It is not the first time a cat-o'-nine-tails has been across my back for other men's misdeeds. Promise me a good flask of brandy when I'm done with it, and I warrant ye I'll never winch."
— 1812, Joanna Baillie, The Dream, part Act 1:
"They “clicked” each other, kidded each other, and by and by they would “winch” and marry each other."
— 1935, Lennox Kerr, Woman of Glenshiels:
"It was common knowledge that he'd winched dozens of girls while she had been sharing a bedroom with her two brothers."
— 2020, Douglas Stuart, Shuggie Bain, page 59:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The workers used a powerful ____ to pull the car out of the ditch.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The workers used a mechanical ____ to lift the heavy boxes from the ground to the upper floor of the warehouse today.