Meaning & use
wing
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Meanings
nouncountable
One of the paired body parts that a bird, bat, or insect uses to fly.
Grammar: Usually plural for the pair: the bird's wings; singular for one: a broken wing.
Patterns
- the wings of something
- spread its wings
The sparrow flapped its wings and lifted off the fence.
A butterfly landed with its wings open.
The owl's wings made no sound as it glided past.
nouncountable
A flat, fixed part sticking out from each side of an aircraft that helps it stay in the air.
Grammar: Aircraft have a left and a right wing: on the wing means in flight.
Patterns
- the wing of a plane
From my seat I could see ice on the wing.
The engine hangs below the left wing.
A crack was found on the wing during inspection.
nouncountable
A section of a large building that sticks out from the main part or is set aside for a particular use.
Grammar: Usually with an adjective or noun before it: the east wing, a hospital wing.
Patterns
- the east/west wing of something
The new science wing opened in September.
Visitors may not enter the east wing of the palace.
She works in the children's wing of the hospital.
nouncountable
A group within a political party or organization that holds a particular set of views.
Grammar: Usually with left, right, or a similar word: the left wing of the party.
Patterns
- the left/right wing of something
The radical wing of the party opposed the deal.
He belongs to the moderate wing of the union.
verbidiominformal
To do or deal with something without preparing, relying on quick thinking; used in the phrase wing it.
Grammar: Almost always wing it, with it as the object: I forgot my notes, so I winged it.
Patterns
- wing it
I hadn't studied, so I just winged it on the quiz.
The band had no setlist and winged it all night.
Don't wing it; rehearse the speech first.
Word forms
| plural | wings |
|---|---|
| third person singular | wings |
| past tense | winged |
| -ing form | winging |
Common combinations
- flap its wings
- The goose flapped its wings and hissed.
- clip someone's wings
- Strict rules clipped her wings at work.
- take someone under your wing
- The senior nurse took the newcomer under her wing.
- waiting in the wings
- A young striker is waiting in the wings.
- left wing
- He sits on the left wing of the party.
- wing it
- We'll have to wing it without a map.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pinion
- Pinion is a literary or technical word for a bird's wing or its outer part, and sounds far more formal than wing.
- annex
- Annex is a separate or added building, while a wing is joined to the main structure as part of it.
- faction
- Faction stresses a group that disagrees with others, while wing simply names a part of a larger group.
- improvise
- Improvise is the neutral, wider word for making things up on the spot, while wing it is informal and sounds less skilled.
Word family
Commonly confused: wing or whinge?
wing vs whinge
Whinge is a British informal verb meaning to complain in an annoying way; it is not related to wing.
Practice
I hadn't prepared a speech, so I decided to ___ it.
Choose one answer.
Wing it is the fixed informal phrase for improvising. Fly it and flap it are not used this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.