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Glite Dictionary
to have the wind up

to have the wind up

9.8
To feel anxious or nervous before something happens
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : estar nervioso
  • He'll have the wind up until he hears the results of his job interview.

Examples

  • After watching the horror movie alone, I really had the wind up.

  • She always seems to have the wind up before exams.

  • She has the wind up before her big presentation.

  • I always have the wind up before exams.

  • She really had the wind up before her job interview, fearing she might not perform well.

  • The team had the wind up as they awaited the results of the final game that determined their championship fate.

  • After hearing the news, he had the wind up about the upcoming presentation, worried he might forget his lines.

Synonyms

to worry
vsto have the wind up
∞ 1.0

To feel nervous or afraid about possible problems

is about feeling nervous often in anticipation rather than focusing on risks
to worry about
vsto have the wind up
∞ 2.0

Feel afraid about what might happen to someone or something

is anxiety often about expectation rather than a specific person or thing
to get the wind up
vsto have the wind up
  • UK
1 9.3

To suddenly feel nervous or worried

is a more general ongoing anxious state rather than a sudden onset
to feel jit
vsto have the wind up
  • Philippine
9.9

To feel nervous and worried before something happens

is the same anxious feeling used as an idiom rather than plain speech
to sweat bricks
vsto have the wind up
  • Informal
9.9

To feel very nervous while waiting for something important

is similar but expresses a milder level of anxiety

Antonyms

composure
38 5.1

Calm control of your feelings and actions in a difficult situation

calmness
9 2.7

A state without strong feelings or worry in your mind

How Anxious

panicked
16 4.6
to have the wind up
  • UK
9.8
nervous
∞ 1.3
uneasy
98 3.2
to calm
962 1.0

Surface Forms

have the wind up infinitive
had the wind up past
had the wind up past participle
having the wind up present participle
has the wind up third person singular

Morphology

have + the + wind + up

The meaning 'to be anxious or nervous' is not directly derivable from the literal meanings of 'have' + 'wind' + 'up'; here 'wind' and 'up' form an idiomatic/clipped sense (related to being 'wound up') that is not transparent. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words but has not seen this idiom before would be unlikely to predict this figurative meaning.

Etymology

The idiom have the wind up may come from the image of a toy or clock that you wind up very tight so it jumps or moves. A person who feels like that is tense and nervous, so the phrase came to mean 'to be anxious'.