wooden

American  

[wood-n] / ˈwʊd n /

adjective

1. consisting or made of wood; wood.

   a wooden ship.

2. stiff, ungainly, or awkward.

   a wooden gait.

3. without spirit, animation, or awareness.

   Synonyms:

   impassive , lifeless , vacant , expressionless

4. dull or stupid.

5. indicating the fifth event of a series, as a wedding anniversary.

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wooden British  

/ ˈwʊdən /

adjective

1. made from or consisting of wood

2. awkward or clumsy

3. bereft of spirit or animation

   a wooden expression

4. obstinately unyielding

   a wooden attitude

5. mentally slow or dull

6. not highly resonant

   a wooden thud

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verb

1. slang  (tr) to fell or kill (a person or animal)

Other Word Forms

• woodenly adverb
• woodenness noun

Etymology

Origin of wooden

First recorded in 1530–40; wood ¹ + -en ²

Example Sentences

It will focus on fire risk, especially in buildings under renovation where bamboo or wooden scaffolding, as well as non‑flame‑retardant safety nets are in use.

From The Wall Street Journal

In April, Johnson saw that bricks around his home’s crawl space were torn out, and the wooden frame covering the crawl space was broken.

From Los Angeles Times

Thousands of items are neatly stacked in plastic containers on wooden shelves.

From BBC

He uses "only wooden stalls and atmospheric white lights that don't blink", with the stalls built in Germany and food and drink imported from there.

From BBC

“It was in the wooden structure that the council first met,” said Fairchild.

From The Wall Street Journal