Wing

/wɪŋ/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: An appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly.
  • Grammar: wing is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: extension, act drop, addition, additions.
  • Useful contrasts: body, breast, center.
  • Usage evidence: I found a bird whose wing was severely damaged.

How to use "wing"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "wing" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "wing" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "wing" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "wing" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "wing" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "extension" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "wing", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly. countable, uncountable

    "The bird was flapping its wings"

  2. 2
    a movable organ for flying (one of a pair) wordnet
  3. 3
    A fin at the side of a ray or similar fish. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    an addition that extends a main building wordnet
  5. 5
    Human arm. countable, slang, uncountable
Show 37 more definitions
  1. 6
    a barrier that surrounds the wheels of a vehicle to block splashing water or mud wordnet
  2. 7
    Part of an aircraft that produces the lift for rising into the air. countable, uncountable

    "I took my seat on the plane, overlooking the wing."

  3. 8
    one of the horizontal airfoils on either side of the fuselage of an airplane wordnet
  4. 9
    One of the large pectoral fins of a flying fish. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    a stage area out of sight of the audience wordnet
  6. 11
    One of the broad, thin, anterior lobes of the foot of a pteropod, used as an organ in swimming. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    the wing of a fowl wordnet
  8. 13
    Any membranaceous expansion, such as that along the sides of certain stems, or one of the bracts on a dragon fruit, or of a fruit of the kind called samara. countable, uncountable
  9. 14
    a unit of military aircraft wordnet
  10. 15
    Either of the two side petals of a papilionaceous flower. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    the side of military or naval formation wordnet
  12. 17
    A side shoot of a tree or plant; a branch growing up by the side of another. countable, uncountable
  13. 18
    a group within a political party or legislature or other organization that holds distinct views or has a particular function wordnet
  14. 19
    Passage by flying; flight. countable, uncountable

    "to take wing"

  15. 20
    (in flight formation) a position to the side and just to the rear of another aircraft wordnet
  16. 21
    Limb or instrument of flight; means of flight or of rapid motion. countable, uncountable

    "Fiery expedition be my wing."

  17. 22
    a hockey player stationed in a forward position on either side wordnet
  18. 23
    A part of something that is lesser in size than the main body, and located at the side, such as an extension from the main building. countable, uncountable

    "the west wing of the hospital"

  19. 24
    One of the longer sides of crownworks or hornworks in fortification. countable, uncountable
  20. 25
    Ellipsis of prison wing, a cellblock; or prison or doing time by extension. Multicultural-London-English, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, slang, uncountable

    "They got bro-bro stuck on the wing, cah I picked up and bullet him"

  21. 26
    Anything that agitates the air as a wing does, or is put in winglike motion by the action of the air, such as a fan or vane for winnowing grain, the vane or sail of a windmill, the sail of a ship, etc. countable, uncountable

    "Fair ship, that from the Italian shore, ⁠Sailest the placid ocean-plains ⁠With my lost Arthur’s loved remains, Spread thy full wings, and waft him o’er."

  22. 27
    A protruding piece of material on a menstrual pad or diaper to hold it in place and prevent leakage. countable, uncountable

    "It's a bit annoying but (like sanitary pads with wings) it's worth it if you want to stay extra secure."

  23. 28
    An ornament worn on the shoulder; a small epaulet or shoulder knot. countable, uncountable
  24. 29
    A cosmetic effect where eyeliner curves outward and ends at a point. countable, uncountable
  25. 30
    A faction of a political movement. Usually implies a position apart from the mainstream center position. countable, uncountable
  26. 31
    An organizational grouping in a military aviation service:; A unit of command consisting of two or more squadrons and itself being a sub-unit of a group or station. British, countable, uncountable
  27. 32
    An organizational grouping in a military aviation service:; A larger formation of two or more groups, which in turn control two or more squadrons. US, countable, uncountable
  28. 33
    A panel of a car which encloses the wheel area, especially the front wheels. British, countable, uncountable
  29. 34
    A platform on either side of the bridge of a vessel, normally found in pairs. countable, uncountable
  30. 35
    That part of the hold or orlop of a vessel which is nearest the sides. In a fleet, one of the extremities when the ships are drawn up in line, or when forming the two sides of a triangle. countable, uncountable

    "their ends may rest a little below the orlop-wing gratings"

  31. 36
    A position in several field games on either side of the field. countable, uncountable

    "Smith started the game in the centre of midfield, but moved to the wing after 30 minutes."

  32. 37
    A player occupying such a position, also called a winger countable, uncountable

    "The Tottenham wing was causing havoc down the right and when he broke past the bemused Sasa Balic once again, Bellamy was millimetres from connecting with his cross as the Liverpool striker hurled himself at the ball."

  33. 38
    A háček. countable, informal, rare, uncountable

    "ˇ wing, wedge, hǎcek, inverted circumflex (Karel Čapek)"

  34. 39
    One of the unseen areas on the side of the stage in a theatre. countable, uncountable

    "The performers crowded breathlessly in the wings."

  35. 40
    The insignia of a qualified pilot or aircrew member. countable, in-plural, uncountable

    "Anyone and everyone with wings - press officers, operations specialists, even General Curtis LeMay, commander of the U.S. Air Force in Europe - was put on flight duty and took turns flying double shifts for "Operation Vittles.""

  36. 41
    A portable shelter consisting of a fabric roof on a frame, like a tent without sides. countable, uncountable
  37. 42
    On the enneagram, one of the two adjacent types to an enneatype that forms an individual's subtype of his or her enneatype. countable, uncountable

    "Tom's a 4 on the enneagram, with a 3 wing."

Verb
  1. 1
    To injure slightly (as with a gunshot), especially in the wing or arm. transitive
  2. 2
    travel through the air; be airborne wordnet
  3. 3
    To fly. intransitive

    "Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines."

  4. 4
    To add a wing (extra part) to. transitive
  5. 5
    To act or speak extemporaneously; to improvise; to wing it. transitive

    "I lost all my notes I'd made, so was partially winging the meeting."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    To throw. transitive
  2. 7
    To furnish with wings. transitive
  3. 8
    To transport with, or as if with, wings; to bear in flight, or speedily. transitive

    "⁠Deep folly! yet that this could be— ⁠That I could wing my will with might ⁠To leap the grades of life and light, And flash at once, my friend, to thee: […]"

  4. 9
    To traverse by flying. transitive
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    A large village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, previously in Aylesbury Vale district (OS grid ref SP8822).
  3. 3
    A village and civil parish in Rutland, England (OS grid ref SK8903).
  4. 4
    An unincorporated community in Covington County, Alabama, United States.
  5. 5
    A small town in Burleigh County, North Dakota, United States.

Synonyms

All synonyms
extensionact dropadditionadditionsadlibadministration

Example

"I found a bird whose wing was severely damaged."

Common questions

What does "wing" mean?

An appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly.

What is a synonym for "wing"?

Common synonyms include: extension, act drop, addition, additions, adlib, administration.

How do you use "wing" in a sentence?

I found a bird whose wing was severely damaged.

How do you pronounce "wing"?

Pronounced /wɪŋ/.

Etymology

From Middle English winge, wenge, from Old Norse vængr ("wing of a flying animal, wing of a building"; compare vængi (“ship's cabin”)), from Proto-Germanic *wēingijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”), thus related to wind. Cognate with Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish vinge (“wing”), Elfdalian waingg (“wing”), Faroese vongur (“wing”), Icelandic vængur (“wing”), Norwegian Nynorsk veng (“wing”). Replaced native Middle English fither (from Old English fiþre, from Proto-Germanic *fiþriją), which merged with Middle English fether (from Old English feþer, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō). More at feather.

More for "wing"

Synonyms

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