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• reed
  reed

  noun

  the straight stalk of any of various tall grasses, especially of the genera Phragmites and Arundo, growing in marshy places.
• Reed
  Reed

  noun

  Sir Carol, 1906–76, British film director.

reed

¹ American  

[reed] / rid /

noun

• reeds
  plural

1. the straight stalk of any of various tall grasses, especially of the genera Phragmites and Arundo, growing in marshy places.

2. any of the plants themselves.

3. such stalks or plants collectively.

4. anything made from such a stalk or from something similar, as an arrow.

5. Music.

   1. a pastoral or rustic musical pipe made from a reed or from the hollow stalk of some other plant.

   2. a small, flexible piece of cane or metal that, attached to the mouth of any of various wind instruments, is set into vibration by a stream of air and, in turn, sets into vibration the air column enclosed in the tube of the instrument.

   3. reed instrument.

6. Textiles. the series of parallel strips of wires in a loom that force the weft up to the web and separate the threads of the warp.

7. an ancient unit of length, equal to 6 cubits. Ezekiel 40:5.

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verb (used with object)

1. to decorate with reed.

2. to thatch with or as if with reed.

3. to make vertical grooves on (the edge of a coin, medal, etc.).

idioms

1. a broken reed, a person or thing too frail or weak to be relied on for support.

   Under stress he showed himself to be a broken reed.

Reed ² American  

[reed] / rid /

noun

1. Sir Carol, 1906–76, British film director.

2. Ishmael (Scott), born 1938, U.S. novelist and poet.

3. John, 1887–1920, U.S. journalist and poet.

4. Stanley Forman 1884–1980, U.S. jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1938–57.

5. Thomas Brackett, 1839–1902, U.S. politician: Speaker of the House 1889–91, 1895–99.

6. Walter C., 1851–1902, U.S. army surgeon who proved that a type of mosquito transmits the yellow fever virus.

7. a male given name, form of Read.

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reed ¹ British  

/ riːd /

noun

1. any of various widely distributed tall grasses of the genus Phragmites , esp P. communis , that grow in swamps and shallow water and have jointed hollow stalks

2. the stalk, or stalks collectively, of any of these plants, esp as used for thatching

3. music

   1. a thin piece of cane or metal inserted into the tubes of certain wind instruments, which sets in vibration the air column inside the tube

   2. a wind instrument or organ pipe that sounds by means of a reed

4. one of the several vertical parallel wires on a loom that may be moved upwards to separate the warp threads

5. a small semicircular architectural moulding See also reeding

6. an ancient Hebrew unit of length equal to six cubits

7. an archaic word for arrow

8. a weak, unreliable, or ineffectual person

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verb

1. to fashion into or supply with reeds or reeding

2. to thatch using reeds

Reed ² British  

/ riːd /

noun

1. Sir Carol . 1906–76, English film director. His films include The Third Man (1949), An Outcast of the Islands (1951), and Oliver! (1968), for which he won an Oscar

2. Lou . born 1942, US rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist: member of the Velvet Underground (1965–70). His albums include Transformer (1972), Berlin (1973), Street Hassle (1978), New York (1989), Set the Twilight Reeling (1996), and The Raven (2003)

3. Walter . 1851–1902, US physician, who proved that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes (1900)

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Reed Scientific  

/ rēd /

1. American physician and army surgeon who proved in 1900 that yellow fever was transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. His research led to the mosquito eradication programs carried out by William Gorgas that virtually eradicated yellow fever from Havana, Cuba, and from the Panama Canal Zone.

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reed Cultural  

1. A thin piece of wood or plastic used in many woodwind instruments. It vibrates when the player holds it in the mouth and blows over it (as with a single reed) or through it (as with a double reed). Clarinets and saxophones use a single reed; bassoons and oboes use a double reed.

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reed More Idioms  

1. see broken reed.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reedlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reeds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of reed

First recorded before 900; Middle English reed, red, reod; Old English hrēod, hrēad; cognate with German Ried, Dutch riet

Explanation

A reed is a woody plant with long, slender leaves. Reeds need a lot of moisture, and they usually grow in or near a marsh. The stalk of a reed plant is also called a reed, and it's from this stiff, wood-like material that reeds for certain musical instruments were first made. Many reed instruments, including the clarinet, still use reeds made from reed — specifically, a bamboo-like reed that is native to marshy Mediterranean areas. When a musician blows across her mouthpiece, the reed vibrates to make the sound.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reed Reed reeds

Seiler then had the children of friends write passages on fresh papyrus using traditional reed pens and the prepared inks.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

He finally found the right reed, got over the anxiety and started playing — same Stan Getz you heard throughout his career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Burning reed beds is a quick way to restore them, but everyone knew it should be avoided because it killed soil invertebrates, such as snails and earthworms.

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2026

The reed beds are used by warblers and reed buntings, which nest in early spring.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026

Boori Ma gripped her reed broom and said nothing.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Texas A&M made its big bet on quarterback Marcel Reed, shelling out a reported $3 million.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Quinn Delaney, a major Democratic donor and fundraiser for former President Obama, and Patty Quillin, a major philanthropist and wife of Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, both have given $1.5 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Martina Serrano Alvarez and Reed Noyd also participated while they were undergraduates, and Colin Miller contributed as a doctoral student.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026

As the AI analyst and podcaster Tom Reed quips: “Even a 100% success rate at predicting the tokens of a Robert Caro biography doesn’t generalize to becoming POTUS.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

During the first twelve hours I thought of Mrs. Reed in her last moments; I saw her disfigured and discoloured face, and heard her strangely altered voice.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

The nibbled plants are stashed in small piles amongst the reeds by the water voles to eat later.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

Paddle in hand, he now collects the rubbish that accumulates in the reeds along the swampy banks to sell to recycling companies.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

Linas, a runner, started the Creek Team OC Instagram account after noticing changes on his runs along San Juan and Trabuco creeks, where lush green reeds suddenly turned brown and lifeless, and birds disappeared.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

These features measure 50 to 100 meters across and are covered in tall reeds reaching about 15 feet.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2026

They found Val lying facedown in a clump of reeds, her feet on solid ground, her body in the mud, her arms around Bronden's waist.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

Related Words

• fountain pen
• marker
• stick