Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

12 MODAL You use would , usually in questions, when you are politely asking someone to do something. [POLITENESS ] □  Would you come in here a moment, please? □  Oh dear, there's the doorbell. See who it is, would you, darling.

13 MODAL You say that someone would do something when it is typical of them and you are critical of it. You emphasize the word would when you use it in this way. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  Well, you would say that: you're a man.

14 MODAL You use would , or sometimes would have with a past participle, when you are expressing your opinion about something or seeing if people agree with you, especially when you are uncertain about what you are saying. [VAGUENESS ] □  I think you'd agree he's a very respected columnist. □  I would have thought it a proper job for the Army to fight rebellion. □  I would imagine she's quite lonely living on her own.

15 MODAL You use I would when you are giving someone advice in an informal way. □  If I were you I would simply ring your friend's bell and ask for your bike back. □  There could be more unrest, but I wouldn't exaggerate the problems.

16 MODAL You use you would in negative sentences with verbs such as 'guess' and 'know' when you want to say that something is not obvious, especially something surprising. □  Chris is so full of artistic temperament you'd never think she was the daughter of a banker.

17 MODAL You use would to talk about something which happened regularly in the past but which no longer happens. □  Sunday mornings my mother would bake. I'd stand by the fridge and help.

18 MODAL You use would have with a past participle when you are saying what was likely to have happened by a particular time. □  Within ten weeks, 34 million people would have been reached by our commercials.

19 MODAL You use would have with a past participle when you are referring to the result or effect of a possible event in the past. □  My daughter would have been 17 this week if she had lived. □  If I had known how he felt, I would never have let him adopt those children.

20 MODAL If you say that someone would have liked or preferred something, you mean that they wanted to do it or have it but were unable to. □  I would have liked a life in politics. □  She would have liked to ask questions, but he had moved on to another topic.

wou ld-be ADJ [ADJ n] You can use would-be to describe someone who wants or attempts to do a particular thing. For example, a would-be writer is someone who wants to be a writer. □  …a book that provides encouragement for would-be writers.

wouldn't /wʊ d ^ə nt/ Wouldn't is the usual spoken form of 'would not'. □  They wouldn't allow me to leave the room.

would've /wʊdəv/ Would've is a spoken form of 'would have', when 'have' is an auxiliary verb. □  My mum would've loved one of us to go to college.

wound

➊ VERB FORM OF 'WIND'

➋ INJURY

➊ wound /waʊ nd/ Wound is the past tense and past participle of wind 2.

➋ wound ◆◆◇ /wuː nd/ (wounds , wounding , wounded )

→ Please look at category 7 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.

1 N‑COUNT A wound is damage to part of your body, especially a cut or a hole in your flesh, which is caused by a gun, knife, or other weapon. □  The wound is healing nicely. □  Six soldiers are reported to have died from their wounds.