wood

1
[ wood ]
See synonyms for wood on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the hard, fibrous substance composing most of the stem and branches of a tree or shrub, and lying beneath the bark; the xylem.

  2. the trunks or main stems of trees as suitable for architectural and other purposes; timber or lumber.

  1. the cask, barrel, or keg, as distinguished from the bottle: aged in the wood.

  2. Music.

    • a woodwind instrument.

    • the section of a band or orchestra composed of woodwinds.

  3. Often woods .(used with a singular or plural verb) a large and thick collection of growing trees; a grove or forest: They picnicked in the woods.

  4. Golf. a club with a wooden head, as a driver, brassie, spoon, or baffy for hitting long shots.: Compare iron (def. 5).

adjective
  1. made of wood; wooden.

  2. used to store, work, or carry wood: a wood chisel.

  1. dwelling or growing in woods: wood bird.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cover or plant with trees.

  2. to supply with wood; get supplies of wood for.

verb (used without object)
  1. to take in or get supplies of wood (often followed by up): to wood up before the approach of winter.

Idioms about wood

  1. have the wood on, Australian Slang. to have an advantage over or have information that can be used against.

  2. knock on wood, (used when knocking on something wooden to assure continued good luck): The car's still in good shape, knock on wood.: Also especially British, touch wood.

  1. out of the woods,

    • out of a dangerous, perplexing, or difficult situation; secure; safe.

    • no longer in precarious health or critical condition; out of danger and recovering.

Origin of wood

1
First recorded before 900; from Middle English, from Old English wudu, earlier widu; cognate with Old Norse vithr, Old High German witu, Old Irish fid

synonym study For wood

7. See forest.

Other words from wood

  • wood·less, adjective

Words Nearby wood

Other definitions for wood (2 of 3)

wood2
[ wood ]

adjectiveArchaic.
  1. wild, as with rage or excitement.

  2. mad; insane.

Origin of wood

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English wod(e), wodde, Old English wōd; cognate with Old Norse ōthr “mad, frantic”; akin to German Wut “rage,” Old English wōth “song” (because it was due to inspired madness; cf. enthusiast)

Other definitions for Wood (3 of 3)

Wood
[ wood ]

noun
  1. Grant, 1892–1942, U.S. painter.

  2. Leonard, 1860–1927, U.S. military doctor and political administrator.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wood in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wood (1 of 3)

wood1

/ (wʊd) /


noun
  1. the hard fibrous substance consisting of xylem tissue that occurs beneath the bark in trees, shrubs, and similar plants: Related adjectives: ligneous, xyloid

  2. the trunks of trees that have been cut and prepared for use as a building material

  1. a collection of trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, etc, usually dominated by one or a few species of tree: usually smaller than a forest: an oak wood Related adjective: sylvan

  2. fuel; firewood

  3. golf

    • a long-shafted club with a broad wooden or metal head, used for driving: numbered from 1 to 7 according to size, angle of face, etc

    • (as modifier): a wood shot

  4. tennis squash badminton the frame of a racket: he hit a winning shot off the wood

  5. one of the biased wooden bowls used in the game of bowls

  6. music short for woodwind See also woods (def. 3)

    • casks, barrels, etc, made of wood

    • from the wood (of a beverage) from a wooden container rather than a metal or glass one

  7. have the wood on or have got the wood on Australian and NZ informal to have an advantage over

  8. out of the wood or out of the woods clear of or safe from dangers or doubts: we're not out of the wood yet

  9. see the wood for the trees (used with a negative) to obtain a general view of a situation, problem, etc, without allowing details to cloud one's analysis: he can't see the wood for the trees

  10. (modifier) made of, used for, employing, or handling wood: a wood fire

  11. (modifier) dwelling in, concerning, or situated in a wood: a wood nymph

verb
  1. (tr) to plant a wood upon

  2. to supply or be supplied with fuel or firewood

Origin of wood

1
Old English widu, wudu; related to Old High German witu, Old Norse vithr

Derived forms of wood

  • woodless, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for wood (2 of 3)

wood2

/ (wʊd) /


adjective
  1. obsolete raging or raving like a maniac

Origin of wood

2
Old English wōd; related to Old High German wuot (German Wut), Old Norse ōthr, Gothic wōths, Latin vātēs seer

British Dictionary definitions for Wood (3 of 3)

Wood

/ (wʊd) /


noun
  1. Mrs Henry, married name of Ellen Price . 1814–87, British novelist, noted esp for the melodramatic novel East Lynne (1861)

  2. Sir Henry (Joseph). 1869–1944, English conductor, who founded the Promenade Concerts in London

  1. John, known as the Elder . 1707–54, British architect and town planner, working mainly in Bath, where he designed the North and South Parades (1728) and the Circus (1754)

  2. his son, John, known as the Younger . 1727–82, British architect: designed the Royal Crescent (1767–71) and the Assembly Rooms (1769–71), Bath

  3. Ralph. 1715–72, British potter, working in Staffordshire, who made the first toby jug (1762)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for wood

wood

[ wud ]


  1. The thick xylem of trees and shrubs, resulting from secondary growth by the vascular cambium, which produces new layers of living xylem. The accumulated living xylem is the sapwood. The older, dead xylem in the interior of the tree forms the heartwood. Often each cycle of growth of new wood is evident as a growth ring. The main components of wood are cellulose and lignin.

Other words from wood

  • woody adjective

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.