woodblock

American  

[wood-blok] / ˈwʊdˌblɒk /

noun

1. a block of wood engraved in relief, for printing from; woodcut.

2. a print or impression from such a block.

3. a hollow block of hard wood struck with a wooden stick or mallet and used in the percussion section of an orchestra.

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adjective

1. made from a woodblock.

   woodblock prints.

Etymology

Origin of woodblock

First recorded in 1830–40; wood ¹ + block

Example Sentences

Enlarged cutouts of samurai from woodblock prints strike aggressive poses between displays.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

Simply put, photographs were still scarce, relatively speaking, but they were on their way to replacing woodblock illustrations in newspapers and periodicals to become the dominant form of visual media.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2025

This is English artist Charles William Bartlett’s 1919 woodblock print on paper rendition of Punjab’s Golden Temple, a sacred shrine for Sikhs.

From BBC • Jul. 20, 2024

Both were molded from cartonnage, created by soaking strips of linen or old papyrus scrolls in a paste and laying them over a woodblock form or the actual head of a mummy.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 2024

I left the fresh beans and carrots and onions on the woodblock table, but everything else got put away in cupboards that, if you asked me, were pretty full already.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt