Meaning trap
wind up
make tense or annoyed
to deliberately make someone tense, annoyed, or angry, often by teasing or provoking them
phrasal verbB2common
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
make tense or annoyed
to deliberately make someone tense, annoyed, or angry, often by teasing or provoking them
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- Don't let him wind you up, he's only saying it to get a reaction.emotions
- I always get a bit wound up before a big interview.emotions
Fix the pattern
Pattern: wind someone up / get wound up
WrongHe was really winded up before the exam.
RightHe was really wound up before the exam.
The tense/on-edge participle is 'wound up' (rhymes with 'found'), not 'winded up'.
Patternwind someone up / get wound up
Don't confuse it
Close to the 'provoke/tease' sense, but here the focus is the resulting tense, agitated state ('all wound up'), not the act of teasing.