wind down

se détendre, décompresser

Se détendre et se sentir moins inquiet ou tendu après une période bien remplie.

En anglais simple : To relax and feel less worried or tense after being busy.

• I need time to wind down.
• He wound down with a warm bath after work.
• How do you wind down before going to bed?

Comment l'utiliser : wind down after something (I wind down after work with a short walk.); wind down by doing something (She winds down by listening to music.)

Synonymes : relax, unwind

Contraires : tense up

Expressions courantes : wind down after work, wind down before bed

cesser progressivement, fermer progressivement

Mettre progressivement fin à une activité, une entreprise ou un service.

En anglais simple : To gradually end an activity or close a business or service.

• They are winding down the business.
• The charity wound down its emergency programme last year.
• How long will it take to wind down production?

Comment l'utiliser : wind down something (The company is winding down its overseas operations.); wind something down (They plan to wind the service down over six months.)

Synonymes : phase out, close down

Contraires : start up

Expressions courantes : wind down operations, wind down something, wind something down

se calmer, ralentir

Devenir plus lent, plus calme ou moins animé, souvent à l’approche de la fin.

En anglais simple : To become slower, quieter, or less busy, often as something nears its end.

• The party is winding down.
• Traffic wound down as the evening grew late.
• Things usually wind down here after the summer season.

Synonymes : slow down, quiet down, subside

Contraires : speed up

Expressions courantes : wind down slowly, activities wind down

baisser à la manivelle

Faire descendre quelque chose en tournant une manivelle.

En anglais simple : To lower something by turning a handle.

• Wind down the window, please.
• He wound down the car window to ask for directions.
• Can you wind the platform down using that handle?

Comment l'utiliser : wind something down (Could you wind the window down?)

Synonymes : lower, roll down

Contraires : raise

Expressions courantes : wind down windows, wind something down

détendre, dérouler

Laisser un ressort ou un mécanisme remonté libérer lentement l’énergie qu’il contient.

En anglais simple : To let a wound spring or mechanism slowly lose its stored power.

• Wind down the toy before opening it.
• The clock’s spring wound down overnight.
• The technician wound the mechanism down before removing its cover.

Comment l'utiliser : wind something down (Wind the mechanism down before opening the case.)

Synonymes : unwind

Contraires : wind up

Expressions courantes : wind down something, wind something down