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woodshed

American  
[wood-shed] / ˈwʊdˌʃɛd /

noun

  1. a shed for storing wood for fuel.


verb (used without object)

woodshedded, woodshedding
  1. Slang. to practice a musical instrument assiduously and with a specific goal in mind.

    He's woodshedding for next week's show.

woodshed British  
/ ˈwʊdˌʃɛd /

noun

  1. a small outbuilding where firewood, garden tools, etc, are stored

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of woodshed

First recorded in 1835–45; wood 1 + shed 1

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

Trex stock got taken behind the PVC woodshed.

From Barron's Nov. 7, 2025

They don’t just lose home nailbiters, they get taken to the woodshed.

From Seattle Times May 10, 2023

Samantha Bee kept her fans sated by way of her online series "Beeing At Home with Samantha Bee," trading her polished set for a woodshed in the country.

From Salon Mar. 29, 2020

He had been looking at the apple tree by the woodshed, trying to see the tiny green fruits that would grow all summer until they became apples.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

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

As he and his cohorts started to make music, they imposed an impressive discipline on themselves, doing two or three years of woodshedding at DJ Muggs’s home before seeking out a recording deal.

From New York Times Apr. 20, 2022

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

After a few months of woodshedding, they made their debut at a Memphis punk club, on a bill with Turner and R.L.

From Time Magazine Archive

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