Showing results for "reed"

• past participle of ree.
• past tense form of ree.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of reed

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

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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

He obtained papyrus and reed pens from Egypt, along with traditional lampblack ink from Japan.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

I have beautiful memories of this stunning part of Norfolk, with its reed beds, grazing marshes, woodland area and river frontage, along with an abundance of birds and other wildlife.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 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

For example, in the early 1990s, he and his colleagues examined standard recommendations for conserving reed beds—important habitats for birds that become overgrown with trees over time.

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2026

The loop at the end had a single broken reed still attached.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Chacarra shot a second-round 71 on Friday to sit well down the field on three under, while Reed registered the same score to lie further back on one over.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

"There will be no graduate job now that doesn't require a baseline of AI literacy," says Glasgow-based Reed.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Reed said he was not giving up hope that Bass would prevail.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

As always, a conversation with Moby is a fascinating journey, from lessons on fame to tales of hanging with David Bowie and Lou Reed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

I turn away from Ms. Reed so she won’t see the tears springing to my eyes.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

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

He’d leave their two dozen sheep by the riverbank and catch fish, or search for bird eggs in the reeds with his friends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

The helicopter-based survey was carried out last year after scientists observed freshwater emerging under pressure in parts of the exposed lakebed in Farmington Bay, forming unusual mounds covered in dense phragmites reeds.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2026

Once I had been hiding, crouched down in the reeds along the stream.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

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