rewind

Everyday

1. To make a video, song or tape go back to an earlier point. tree →
2. To wind something, like a thread or a clock spring, again. tree →
3. (informal) To go back in a story or conversation: "Let's rewind — what happened before?" tree →
4. (noun) The button or act of going back. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life, we rewind videos to see something again. Old cassette tapes and videotapes had to be rewound. In stories, "Let's rewind to last Tuesday" means the writer jumps back in time (a flashback). Phrases: rewind the video, hit rewind, rewind to.

Examples

• Can you rewind the video? I missed the goal. tree →
• Press rewind to hear the song again. tree →
• Let's rewind — who started the fight? tree →
• Grandma used to rewind cassette tapes with a pencil. tree →
• I wish I could rewind the day and start again. tree →
• The story rewinds to when the twins were babies. tree →

Note

Irregular past: rewound (rhymes with "found"), not "rewinded". Pronounced "ree-WINED" like wind a clock, not "wind" (moving air).