winch
Other forms: winches; winched; winching
A winch is a kind of tool for tightening or loosening the tension of a rope or cable. If you take up sailing, you might use a winch to adjust the position of the sails. Ahoy, matey!
You use a winch for things like pulling out cars stuck in the mud or snow. Tow trucks have winches, and so do sailboats, for tightening (or "trimming") a sail line. As a verb, winch means to use one: "I told you not to drive through that mud. Now we'll have to winch you out of there." The root of winch means "to bend," possibly in reference to the shape of a winch's handle.
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lifting device consisting of a horizontal cylinder turned by a crank on which a cable or rope windssynonyms: windlasstypes:capstana windlass rotated in a horizontal plane around a vertical axis; used on ships for weighing anchor or raising heavy sailsyard donkey, yardera winch (or system of winches) powered by an engine and used to haul logs from a stump to a landing or to a skid roadtype of:lifting devicea device for lifting heavy loads
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pull or lift up with or as if with a winch
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Vocabulary lists containing winch
In this retelling, the monster from the Old English epic Beowulf, shares his own story.
Translated by Matthew Ward, Camus’s seminal 1942 novel follows Meursault — a young Frenchman in Algeria — who is condemned for his unemotional response to the death of his mother.
The year is 1773, and fourteen-year-old Johnny is an apprentice silversmith in Boston. When a terrible accident threatens his future, Johnny must quickly adapt — just as the American colonists join forces to break free from British rule.