Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: wund

wound

2 noun
     
Related topics: Illness and Disability
wound2 [countable]
1MI an injury to your body that is made by a weapon such as a knife or a bullet:
A nurse cleaned and bandaged the wound.
It took several months for his wounds to heal.
suffer/receive a wound
Several of the victims suffered severe stab wounds.
head/leg etc wound
He was treated in hospital for head wounds.
stab/knife/gunshot wound
He died of gunshot wounds.
The doctor said it was only a flesh wound (=one that does not cut the skin very deeply).
a gaping wound (=one that is wide and open) on his thigh
2 a feeling of emotional or mental pain that you get when someone says or does something unpleasant to you:
It will take much longer for the mental wounds to heal.
3

open old wounds

to remind someone of unpleasant things that happened in the past
! Do not confuse with wound, the past tense and past participle of the verb wind, which has a different pronunciation

➔ lick your wounds

at lick1 (6)

➔ rub salt into the wound

at rub1 (6)
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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