Meaning & use
wined
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“wined” is a form of “wine”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Past tense of wine: to treat someone to wine, usually as part of entertaining them generously.
Grammar: Takes an object: they wined their guests all evening.
Patterns
- wine and dine someone
- be wined and dined
The sales team wined and dined the buyers at the finest restaurant in town.
He wined her through the whole dinner, hoping to win her over.
Our hosts wined and dined us for a week before the contract was signed.
verbtransitiveinformal
Past participle used passively, describing someone who has been given an expensive, lavish evening of food and drink.
Grammar: Used in the passive: she was wined and dined by three firms.
Patterns
- be wined and dined by someone
Top graduates are wined and dined by employers eager to hire them.
We were wined and dined on the company's account for the whole conference.
After being wined and dined, the committee found it hard to refuse the offer.
Word forms
| third person singular | wines |
|---|---|
| past tense | wined |
| past participle | wined |
| -ing form | wining |
Common combinations
- wined and dined
- The visitors were wined and dined in the castle.
- be wined and dined by
- Candidates were wined and dined by recruiters.
- wined her guests
- She wined her guests with a rare vintage.
- wined and dined clients
- The agency wined and dined clients to keep their business.
Synonyms and how they differ
- entertained
- Entertained is much broader and need not involve food or drink, while wined points to a lavish meal.
- feasted
- Feasted is usually about the eater's own enjoyment, while wined and dined is about a host treating a guest.
- treated
- Treated is general for paying for something nice, while wined suggests wine and a formal dinner in particular.
Word family
Commonly confused: wined or whined? wined or wind?
wined vs whined
Whined means complained in an annoying voice. It sounds the same as wined for many speakers but has nothing to do with wine.
wined vs wind
Wind with a long i sound (wound) is a different verb about turning; wined only comes from wine.
Practice
Before the merger, the executives were ____ by the other company's directors.
Choose one answer.
Wined and dined is the fixed expression for being treated to wine and a meal. Whined means complained, which sounds similar but does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wined”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.