winding and winning differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. winding means “marked by repeated turns and bends”. winning means “having won”. winning is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈwaɪndɪŋ/
1.adj.marked by repeated turns and bends
“a tortuous road up the mountain”
2.adj.of a path e.g.
“meandering streams”
3.n.the act of winding or twisting
“he put the key in the old clock and gave it a good wind”
/ˈwɪnɪŋ/
1.adj.having won
“the victorious entry”
2.adj.very attractive; capturing interest
“a fetching new hairstyle”
3.n.succeeding with great difficulty
“winning is not everything”
| winding | winning | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈwaɪndɪŋ/ | /ˈwɪnɪŋ/ |
| Said | WAHYN-ding | WIN-ing |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Letters | 7 | 7 |
| Parts of speech | adjective, noun | adjective, noun |
| Senses | 3 | 3 |
| How common | Familiar | Common |
| Synonyms | tortuous, twisting, twisty | victorious |
Full entry for winding · Full entry for winning · More comparisons