woody

¹

[ wood-ee ]

adjective

, wood·i·er, wood·i·est.

1. abounding with woods; wooded.
2. belonging or pertaining to the woods; sylvan.
3. consisting of or containing wood; ligneous.
4. resembling wood, as in appearance, texture, or toughness:

   a woody vegetable.

woody

²

or wood·ie

[ wood-ee ]

noun

, plural wood·ies.

1. Slang. a station wagon having wood or simulated-wood panels on the outside of the body.
2. Slang: Vulgar. an erection of the penis.

woody

³

[ wuhd-ee, woo-dee ]

noun

woodier woodiestplural: woodies

1. widdy ¹.

Woody

⁴

[ wood-ee ]

noun

1. a male given name, form of Woodrow.

woody

/ ˈwʊdɪ /

adjective

1. abounding in or covered with forest or woods
2. connected with, belonging to, or situated in a wood
3. consisting of or containing wood or lignin

   woody tissue

   woody stems

4. resembling wood in hardness or texture

Derived Forms

• ˈwoodiness, noun

Other Words From

• woodi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of woody¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; wood ¹, -y ¹

Origin of woody²

First recorded in 1940–45 woody ²fordef 2; in 1960–65 woody ²fordef 1; wood ¹ + -y ²

Example Sentences

That twisting action is due to how the pods’ woody fibers line up at the microscopic level.

From Science News For Students

Grasses and other plants in nonforest ecosystems would need to expend just over 1 percent of their energy stores, largely because such plants are far shorter and have less resistance to the flow of sap within their tissues than woody plants do.

From Science News

There’s no species called a “bonsai tree” — the word literally means “tree in a pot,” and virtually any woody tree or shrub can be trained as a bonsai.

From Vox

Woody said she has learned of disruptions of other Zoom events in a similar way that are being referred to as “Zoom bombing” incidents.

From Washington Blade

Woody said 60 people from across the country registered for the event, but only about 39 people signed on to the Zoom site when the hacker began to disrupt the event.

From Washington Blade

So with Woody, his first 3-5 films will be your favorites, or your first 3-5 Sam Shepard plays will be your favorites.

From The Daily Beast

I would have never predicted when I saw Cheers that Woody Harrelson was going to be one of the great actors of this generation.

From The Daily Beast

Wally said, “One day, Woody Allen will pass, and people will wonder if he really lived.”

From The Daily Beast

Woody Allen once remarked that 80 or 90 % of life was just showing up.

From The Daily Beast

But Willie Watson is a throwback to the days of Woody Guthrie and early Bob Dylan.

From The Daily Beast

Grant's Island is higher than the others, which are merely small woody islets, the centre is in 11 degrees 10 minutes.

From Project Gutenberg

The fruit consists of radiating, somewhat woody fibres, terminating in a tuberculated and slightly papillose surface.

From Project Gutenberg

The woody hollow of Cowan's Bridge was foggy, unwholesome, damp.

From Project Gutenberg

They then put forth new leaves and flowers, and after sixteen or eighteen months they become slightly woody.

From Project Gutenberg

This is largely due to the fact that plant cells have woody walls that the digestive juices cannot act upon.

From Project Gutenberg