WINGS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does wings mean? 

• WINGS (noun)
  The noun WINGS has 2 senses:

1. a means of flight or ascent

2. stylized bird wings worn as an insignia by qualified pilots or air crew members

  Familiarity information: WINGS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WINGS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A means of flight or ascent

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

necessity lends wings to inspiration

Hypernyms ("wings" is a kind of...):

agency; means; way (thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end)

Domain usage:

plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Stylized bird wings worn as an insignia by qualified pilots or air crew members

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("wings" is a kind of...):

insignia (a badge worn to show official position)

 Context examples 

The material that forms W40's wings was ejected from a dense cluster of stars that lies between the wings in the image.

('Space Butterfly' Is Home to Hundreds of Baby Stars, NASA)

You would need wings ere you could reach Sir Nigel's side.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And now we are all scattered; and for many a long day loneliness will sit over our roofs with brooding wings.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The research showed the same area of the genome that controlled the coloration of the wings was responsible for defining a sexual preference for those same wing patterns.

(Butterflies are genetically wired to choose a mate that looks just like them, University of Cambridge)

In both scenarios, running at medium speed produced vibrations making the animal's wings flap.

(Scientific study suggests dinosaurs flapped their wings as they ran, Wikinews)

I made it like those Beth invented, a big butterfly with a fat body, and black and yellow wings, worsted feelers, and bead eyes.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He was confused and blinded by the rush of it and the beat of angry wings.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The membrane may even be present in previously discovered members of the scansoriopterygids, though at present it is believed the other members had more bird-like wings.

(Second Bat-Like Dinosaur Discovered in China, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

And with another bow, the Monkey King spread his wings and flew away through the window, followed by all his band.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

In one of these wings the windows were broken and blocked with wooden boards, while the roof was partly caved in, a picture of ruin.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)