to take the wind
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: to have the wind
Meaning · English
To get or keep the upper hand. Bacon uses the phrase. To have the wind of a ship is to be to the windward of it.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to take the wind” mean?
To get or keep the upper hand. Bacon uses the phrase. To have the wind of a ship is to be to the windward of it.
Is “to take the wind” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.