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# winch

noun (a winch, winches); verb (winch, winches, winched, winching)

«winch» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A machine with a rope or a chain wound round a turning drum, used to lift or pull heavy things. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/#m1)
2. (verb) To lift or pull something with a winch. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/#m2)
3. (verb, Scotland, informal) To go out with someone as a boyfriend or girlfriend; a different, Scots sense. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science and design-technology lessons, a winch is a simple machine using a wheel and axle: turning a big handle makes it easier to lift a heavy load. In the news, rescue helicopters winch people to safety, and tow trucks winch cars out of ditches. Wells once used a winch to raise buckets of water. Phrases: "winch up", "winch to safety", "winch out".

### Examples

- The helicopter winched the climber to safety. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/#x1)
- We built a winch from a cotton reel and a pencil. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/#x2)
- The tow truck used its winch to pull the car out of the mud. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/#x3)
- The sailors winched up the anchor. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/#x4)
- An old winch lifted the bucket out of the well. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/#x5)
- The bigger the handle on a winch, the easier it is to turn. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/#x6)

### Note

Countable: a winch, plural winches. Regular verb: winched. Do not confuse with "wench" (an old word for a young woman, now rude or old-fashioned) or "flinch". A winch is a type of wheel-and-axle simple machine.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «winch» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/winch/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«winch» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/winch.html) on Mova free.