What is "winched"

Usage examples of "winched".

The trebuchets looked ungainly - oversized slingshots with heavy wooden beams bracing the armature for the firing paddle, which was winched back by stout hemp ropes, then released to snap upward, flinging its payload over the castle walls.

It could carry over a ton, be pulled along by two or three people, and winched up slopes too steep for human muscle.