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• wood
  wood

  noun

  the hard, fibrous substance composing most of the stem and branches of a tree or shrub, and lying beneath the bark; the xylem.
• Wood
  Wood

  noun

  Grant, 1892–1942, U.S. painter.

wood

¹ American  

[wood] / wʊd /

noun

• woods
  plural

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.

3. firewood.

4. the cask, barrel, or keg, as distinguished from the bottle.

   aged in the wood.

5. woodblock.

6. Music.

   1. a woodwind instrument.

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

7. (used with a singular or plural verb) Often woods a large and thick collection of growing trees; a grove or forest.

   They picnicked in the woods.

8. Golf. a club with a wooden head, as a driver, brassie, spoon, or baffy for hitting long shots.

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adjective

1. made of wood; wooden.

2. used to store, work, or carry wood.

   a wood chisel.

3. 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 byup ).

   to wood up before the approach of winter.

idioms

1. knock on wood, (used when knocking on something wooden to assure continued good luck): Also touch wood.

   The car's still in good shape, knock on wood.

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

3. out of the woods,

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

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

wood ² American  

[wood] / wʊd /

adjective

Archaic.

1. wild, as with rage or excitement.

2. mad; insane.

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Wood ³ American  

[wood] / wʊd /

noun

1. Grant, 1892–1942, U.S. painter.

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

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wood ¹ British  

/ wʊd /

noun

1. the hard fibrous substance consisting of xylem tissue that occurs beneath the bark in trees, shrubs, and similar plants

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

3. 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

4. fuel; firewood

5. golf

   1. 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

   2. ( as modifier )

      a wood shot

6. tennis squash badminton the frame of a racket

   he hit a winning shot off the wood

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

8. music short for woodwind See also woods

9. 1. casks, barrels, etc, made of wood

   2. (of a beverage) from a wooden container rather than a metal or glass one

10. informal to have an advantage over

11. clear of or safe from dangers or doubts

    we're not out of the wood yet

12. (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

13. (modifier) made of, used for, employing, or handling wood

    a wood fire

14. (modifier) dwelling in, concerning, or situated in a wood

    a wood nymph

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verb

1. (tr) to plant a wood upon

2. to supply or be supplied with fuel or firewood

Wood ² British  

/ 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

3. 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)

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

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

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wood ³ British  

/ wʊd /

adjective

1. obsolete raging or raving like a maniac

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Synonym Usage

See forest.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• woodless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• woods
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wood¹

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

Origin of wood²

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 ( def. ))

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wood Wood woods

The goal was to determine how much carbon dioxide the forest removes from the atmosphere and stores in its wood.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

"It's so hot it's hard to breathe," said one resident of Guryong Village, a settlement of crude wood and tarpaulin shacks hosting around 160 households according to officials.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Currently, bamboo and recycled paper are the primary alternatives to traditional wood fiber in paper-based products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

During a fire ban, barbeque or wood fire pizza ovens cannot be used outside.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

An odd-shaped piece of wood was sticking above the pile.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Wood became emotional as she said her confidence as a Welsh speaker had been "shattered" by the experience.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Former US diplomat Emily Wood has been working with the Guam governor's office to better understand the risks of deep-sea mining.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

BBC Wales has seen confirmation that Wood entered the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize, which is for unpublished novels of at least 50,000 words.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Most companies are choosing to hold on to the windfall, rather than reinvesting in production, Tom Ellacott, vice president of corporate research at Wood Mackenzie, said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

He just threw that out there as if the nickname, Little Wood, was already a thing.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

An Army veteran has spent the last 15 weeks camping in woods while waiting for his social housing application to be processed.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

A woman who lives alone in a house in the woods, of course – although she’s an artist, not a witch.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

Bernard Roche, a 75-year-old former lifeguard, evacuated his cabin in the woods on Wednesday.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

SOMERS, N.Y.—Robert Carleton was getting the mail one day in April when he saw a group of teenage boys sprinting away from nearby woods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

If he made a game of it, like playing house in the woods, she could lie down in the shelter and sleep while he walked to the bridge and back.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

Related Words

• lumber
• timber
• woodland