What does "reed" mean?
Any of various types of tall stiff perennial grass-like plants growing together in groups near water.
Reed
/ɹiːd/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any of various types of tall stiff perennial grass-like plants growing together in groups near water.
- Grammar: reed is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: adjutage, aerophone, aftergrass, anthrophore.
- Usage evidence: Man is but a reed, the weakest in nature, but he is a thinking reed.
How to use "reed"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "reed" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "reed" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "reed" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "reed" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "reed" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adjutage" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "reed", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of various types of tall stiff perennial grass-like plants growing together in groups near water. countable
- 2 The fourth stomach of a ruminant; rennet. Scotland, UK, dialectal
- 3 a musical instrument that sounds by means of a vibrating reed wordnet
- 4 The hollow stem of these plants. countable
- 5 a vibrator consisting of a thin strip of stiff material that vibrates to produce a tone when air streams over it wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 Part of an aerophone musical instrument, comprising a thin piece of wood or metal, which vibrates to produce sound when air passes through it. countable
- 7 tall woody perennial grasses with hollow slender stems especially of the genera Arundo and Phragmites wordnet
- 8 Short for reed instrument. abbreviation, alt-of, countable
- 9 A comb-like part of a beater for beating the weft when weaving. countable
"Coordinate term: sley"
- 10 A piece of whalebone or similar for stiffening the skirt or waist of a woman's dress. countable, historical
- 11 Reeding. uncountable
- 12 A tube containing the train of powder for igniting the charge in blasting. countable, uncountable
- 13 Straw prepared for thatching a roof. countable, uncountable
- 14 A missile weapon. countable, obsolete, poetic, uncountable
- 15 A measuring rod. archaic, countable, uncountable
- 16 A measuring rod.; A Babylonian unit of measure the length of a reed, equal to half a nindan, or six cubits. archaic, countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To thatch. transitive
- 2 simple past and past participle of ree form-of, participle, past
- 3 To mill or mint with reeding.
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Old English, a spelling variant of Reid.
- 2 A unisex given name transferred from the surname.
- 3 A village and civil parish in North Hertfordshire district, Hertfordshire, England (OS grid ref TL3636).
- 4 A number of places in the United States.; A town in Desha County, Arkansas.
- 5 A number of places in the United States.; An unincorporated community in Henderson County, Kentucky.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A number of places in the United States.; A township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
- 7 A number of places in the United States.; An unincorporated community in Freeman, Crawford County, Wisconsin.
Example
"Man is but a reed, the weakest in nature, but he is a thinking reed."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "reed"?
Common synonyms include: adjutage, aerophone, aftergrass, anthrophore, arrow, arrowhead.
How do you use "reed" in a sentence?
Man is but a reed, the weakest in nature, but he is a thinking reed.
How do you pronounce "reed"?
Pronounced /ɹiːd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English red, reed, from Old English hrēod, from Proto-West Germanic *hreud, of uncertain origin. Akin to Saterland Frisian Rait (“reed”), West Frisian reid (“reed”), Dutch riet (“reed”), German Ried (“reed”). No cognates in North Germanic languages, but the existence of an otherwise unattested Gothic *𐌷𐍂𐌹𐌿𐌳 (*hriud) was supposed by the brothers Grimm. They also theorised that the word may have a relation to the retas mentioned in Noctes Atticae (Aulus Gellius). The measuring reed sense is the translation of Akkadian qanûm ("cane") used in the Bible and elsewhere.
Etymology 2
From Middle English reden, from the noun (see above).
Etymology 3
See ree.
Etymology 4
From Middle English rede (“abomasum”), from Old English rēada, from Proto-West Germanic *raudō.
Etymology 5
* As an English and Scottish surname, from the adjective red. * Also as an English surname, from Old English rēodan (“to clear out”), from Proto-West Germanic *reudan. * Also as an English surname, from several places in England, such as Reed, Lancashire (from Old English ra (“roe deer”) or Rede, Suffolk (see Rede). Compare Rider, Reader.