wind up

Meaning

In a business context, 'wind up' means to bring a meeting, discussion, or activity to an end. It can also mean to end up in a particular situation or place after a series of events. It has a casual, practical tone often used in office settings.

Examples

• Let's wind up this meeting so everyone can get back to work.

  Let's wind up this meeting so everyone can get back to work.

• If we don't change our strategy, we might wind up losing our biggest client.

  If we don't change our strategy, we might wind up losing our biggest client.

• I'll give you five more minutes to wind up your presentation.

  I'll give you five more minutes to wind up your presentation.

• We wound up signing the contract after three hours of negotiation.

  We wound up signing the contract after three hours of negotiation.

• Let's wind up the discussion on budget and move to marketing.

  Let's wind up the discussion on budget and move to marketing.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We need to wind down this meeting.

  ✓ We need to wind up this meeting.

  'Wind down' means to relax or gradually decrease activity, whereas 'wind up' means to bring something to a final conclusion.

• ✗ He wound up to lose his job.

  ✓ He wound up losing his job.

  When 'wind up' means to end up in a situation, it must be followed by a gerund (-ing form), not an infinitive verb.

Related Expressions

Practice

• It's getting late, so let's ___ this call and reconvene tomorrow.

  💡 Pharasal verb meaning to finish or conclude.

  Show answer

  wind up

• If you keep skipping meetings, you'll ___ getting fired.

  💡 Meaning to end up in a certain situation.

  Show answer

  wind up