woodshed

American  

[wood-shed] / ˈwʊdˌʃɛd /

noun

1. a shed for storing wood for fuel.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of woodshed

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

woodshed woodshedded woodshedding

In 1886, Charles Martin Hall, a 22-year-old working in the woodshed behind his parents’ home in Oberlin, Ohio, had figured out how to mass produce it inexpensively using electric currents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 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

Then, when Mrs. Arable complained, he was moved to a bigger box in the woodshed.

From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

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

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