Woodstock

American  

[wood-stok] / ˈwʊdˌstɒk /

noun

1. a town in northeastern Illinois.

2. a rock music festival held in August of 1969 in Bethel, N.Y., a town near Woodstock, N.Y.

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Woodstock British  

/ ˈwʊdstɒk /

noun

1. a town in New York State, the site of a large rock festival in August 1969. Pop: 6253 (2003 est)

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Woodstock Cultural  

1. A village in New York state, where some 400,000 young people assembled in 1969 for a rock music festival.

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The size of the crowd and the prevalence of hippie dress and customs led to use of the term Woodstock nation to indicate the youth counterculture of the late 1960s.

The term Woodstock is now used loosely to mean a large, impromptu gathering.

Example Sentences

Bicester and Woodstock MP Calum Miller, said he would be "pressing" national and local agencies to "take their responsibilities seriously to protect the health of people living in this area."

From BBC • May 20, 2026

Don’t Miss: Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the former Woodstock site, hosts open-air concerts and a small museum.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

Woodstock gets a solo moment too, whistling on Dog Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” set to a perfect one drop beat as Charlie Brown spirals out in a chicken suit while rubber chickens sway.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

The Dead’s long list of landmark festivals included the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, Woodstock in 1969 and the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen in 1973.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

There could be two hundred and fifty Woodstock Festivals of viruses sitting on that period—the combined populations of Great Britain and France— and you would never know it.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston