woodshed
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
Etymology
Origin of woodshed
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
His presence on the panel creates a bloodlust, the audience hopeful that the two European superstars will take their U.S. colleague to the football woodshed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
This might be more forgivable if it hadn’t been their second trip to the woodshed.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2025
Trex stock got taken behind the PVC woodshed.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
Before last week, I was already writing a column taking Los Angeles to the woodshed for not being and doing and thinking boldly enough.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2025
The door on the woodshed hung from a single hinge.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Recording at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, where the Beatles had woodshedded, Lewis’s youthful energy was stoked by a screaming, whistling crowd.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2022
During his downtime, the Brooklyn native did songwriting woodshedding by taking deep dives into the catalogs of composers ranging from Neil Young to Burt Bacharach and exploring a myriad soundtracks from Hollywood’s Golden Age.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 2, 2022
The period in which James’s woodshedding and partying achieved détente led to “punk funk” hits in the late ’70s.
From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021
Coleman agreed that Rollins was likely doing more than just woodshedding.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 5, 2017
She actually had been woodshedding for about three months.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 19, 2015
Often, S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. men fell to in the lobby for some "woodshedding," a term for ad-lib singing by members who have never worked together.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
