wind (sth) down

— phrasal verb with wind

/waɪnd/ verb (wound, wound)

Definition

› to end gradually or in stages, or to cause something to do this: The government intends to wind the scheme down in early spring. Unfortunately, the party was just winding down as we got there.Causing something to endComing to an end › If a business or organization winds down, or if someone winds it down, the amount of work it does is gradually reduced until it closes completely: They're winding down their operations abroad because they're losing money.Starting, succeeding and failing in business

(Definition of wind (sth) down from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)