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Glite Dictionary
to get the wind up

to get the wind up

1 9.3
To suddenly feel nervous or worried
  • phrasal verb
  • UK
translation icon : ponerse nervioso
  • And afraid he'd get the wind up after we'd gone.

Examples

  • When the job interview started, she began to get the wind up and felt her palms sweating.

  • He's probably got the wind up.

    1917 (2019)

  • He suddenly got the wind up when he heard the loud noises outside.

  • The unexpected announcement made him get the wind up during the meeting.

Synonyms

to work up
vsto get the wind up
  • Informal
57 5.6

To become very upset or angry because of something

is sudden nervousness not necessarily caused by dwelling on it
to run scared
vsto get the wind up
  • Informal
14 5.7

Act in a nervous way because you are afraid or feel pressure

is sudden personal anxiety rather than action under threat
to tense up
vsto get the wind up
  • Informal
9 3.7

To make your muscles tight when you feel nervous

is sudden nervousness often without clear muscle tension
to get uptight
vsto get the wind up
  • Informal
3 7.7

Feel nervous and tense in stressful situations

is sudden nervousness often without ongoing tension
to get your knickers in a twist
vsto get the wind up
  • UK
2 9.1

To become upset or worried about small things

is sudden anxiety about any cause rather than trivial focus
to get het up
vsto get the wind up
  • Archaic
1 9.6

To become too angry or upset about small things

is sudden anxiety rather than anger or needless excitement
to have the wind up
vsto get the wind up
  • UK
9.8

To feel anxious or nervous before something happens

is the same sudden anxiety but in the other expression
to run up the walls
vsto get the wind up
  • UK
8.2

To feel very worried and unable to relax

is milder sudden anxiety rather than extreme agitation
to go into a tizzy
vsto get the wind up
  • Informal
8.3

Get very upset and confused quickly

is sudden nervousness without the dramatic or chaotic reaction

Antonyms

to calm
962 1.0

Make a person or animal less upset

at ease
106 1.7

Being comfortable and relaxed, not nervous or worried

How Anxious

to panic
272 2.3
to get the wind up
  • UK
1 9.3

Surface Forms

get the wind up infinitive
getting the wind up present participle
gets the wind up third person singular
got the wind up past
got the wind up past participle

Morphology

get + the + wind + up

The meaning 'to become anxious or nervous' cannot be predicted from the literal parts 'get' + 'the' + 'wind' + 'up'; 'wind' and 'up' do not transparently convey anxiety and the phrase is an informal idiom in British English. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words but has not encountered the expression would not reliably infer this idiomatic sense, so the construction is unpredictable rather than compositional.

Etymology

The idiom get the wind up may come from the image of a toy or clock that you wind up until it is tight and ready to move. When someone is 'wound up' like that they feel tense and worried, so get the wind up means 'to become nervous'.