redwood

[red-woo d]

noun

a coniferous tree, Sequoia sempervirens, of California, noted for its great height, sometimes reaching to more than 350 feet (107 meters): the state tree of California.

its valuable brownish-red timber.

a red-colored wood.

any of various trees yielding a reddish wood.

any tree whose wood produces a red dyestuff.

Nearby words

Origin of redwood

First recorded in 1610–20; red¹ + wood¹

redwood

or red·wud

[red-woo d]

adjective Scot.

raving mad; insane.

distracted with anger; furious.

Origin of redwood

First recorded in 1550–60; red¹ + wood²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for redwood

Berg: We have a big screening tomorrow night up in Redwood City.
Mike Judge’s Genius Satire ‘Silicon Valley’ Skewers Tech Titans|Andrew Romano|April 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yellow crime-scene tape went up around the 125-year-old redwood structure.
As 2014 Began, a Fateful Path to a Catholic Priest’s Murder|Michael Daly|January 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nobody chooses to get married in a redwood forest unless they love redwood forests.
11 Juiciest Bits from Sean Parker’s TechCrunch Rant|Sarah Langs|June 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
They built a redwood garden fence and installed a flagstone court and sidewalks.
Hoover’s Secret Files|Ronald Kessler|August 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Someday we'll wonder how we ever thought flushing a Redwood down the drain was a reasonable thing to do.
Stop Indulging, America|Margaret Carlson|October 24, 2009|DAILY BEAST
This one's goin' to look like the ten-cent store in Albuquerque, all strung up in a redwood.
Heart of the West|O. Henry
He won the first battle for the Indians, standing on the first Redwood Tree.
California Athabascan Groups|Martin A. Baumhoff
Yew is an evergreen tree with a leaf looking a great deal like that of redwood, hemlock, or fir at a distance.
Hunting with the Bow and Arrow|Saxton Pope
On a small table, over which hung the gas-light, was a silver box, such as I had seen in the hands of Redwood at Leavenworth.
Plane and Plank|Oliver Optic
The favorite haunts of this lily are high and inaccessible ridges, among the chaparral, or under the live-oak or redwood.
The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits|Mary Elizabeth Parsons

British Dictionary definitions for redwood

redwood

noun

a giant coniferous tree, Sequoia sempervirens, of coastal regions of California, having reddish fibrous bark and durable timber: family Taxodiaceae . The largest specimen is over 120 metres (360 feet) tallSee also sequoia

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

Word Origin and History for redwood

redwood

1610s, "wood that has a red hue," from red (adj.1) + wood (n.). Of various types of New World trees that yield such wood, from 1716; specifically of the California Sequoia sempervirens from 1819. In Scottish English 16c.-18c. the same word as an adjective meant "completely deranged, raving, stark mad," from wood (adj.).