What does "wood" mean?
The substance making up the central part of the trunk and branches of a tree. Used as a material for construction, to manufacture various items, etc. or as fuel.
Wood
/wʊd/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The substance making up the central part of the trunk and branches of a tree. Used as a material for construction, to manufacture various items, etc. or as fuel.
- Grammar: wood is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: forest, acacia, afforestation, alder.
- Useful contrasts: dutch steen, plastic watering can, aes.
- Usage evidence: I knew it was plastic but it tasted like wood.
How to use "wood"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "wood" 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 "wood" 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 "wood" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "wood" 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 "wood" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang 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 "forest" 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 "wood", 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 The substance making up the central part of the trunk and branches of a tree. Used as a material for construction, to manufacture various items, etc. or as fuel. uncountable
"This table is made of wood."
- 2 A peckerwood. US, offensive, slang, sometimes
"He further stated that "I can't remember ever seeing a wood [white inmate] assault a nigger without being provoked"."
- 3 a golf club with a long shaft used to hit long shots; originally made with a wooden head wordnet
- 4 The wood from a particular species of tree. countable
"Teak is much used for outdoor benches, but a number of other woods are also suitable, such as ipé, redwood, etc."
- 5 any wind instrument other than the brass instruments wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 A forested or wooded area. countable, often
"A wood beyond this moor was viewed as a border area in the seventeenth century."
- 7 the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area wordnet
- 8 Firewood. countable, uncountable
"We need more wood for the fire."
- 9 the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees wordnet
- 10 A type of golf club, the head of which was traditionally made of wood. countable
- 11 A woodwind instrument. countable, uncountable
- 12 An erection of the penis. slang, uncountable
"That girl at the strip club gave me wood."
- 13 Chess pieces. slang, uncountable
"[…] White has nothing but a lot of frozen wood on the board while Black operates on the Q-side."
Verb
- 1 To cover or plant with trees. transitive
"Their be ii good bellys, a chales, and a few veſtments of litil valure, the ſtuff beſide is not worth xl s. lead ther ys non except in ii gutters the which the p’or hath convey’d in to ye town, but that is ſuar yt is metely wodey’d in hege rowys."
- 2 To hide behind trees. intransitive, reflexive
"Immediatly, the other boate lying ready with their shot to skoure the place for our hand weapons to lande upon, which was presently done, although the land was very high and steepe, the Savages forthwith quitted the shoare, and betooke themselves to flight: wee landed, and having faire and easily followed for a smal time after them, who had wooded themselves we know not where […]"
- 3 To supply with wood, or get supplies of wood for. transitive
"to wood a steamboat or a locomotive"
- 4 To take or get a supply of wood. intransitive
"In this little Iſle of Mevis, more than twenty Years ago, I have remained a great time together, to Wood and Water and refreſh my Men […]"
Adjective
- 1 Mad, insane, crazed. archaic
"And then he flue on hir as he were wood, / And on hir breeche did hack and foyne a-good."
Proper Noun
- 1 An English topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a wood. countable, uncountable
- 2 A surname originating as an occupation for a woodsman. countable, uncountable
- 3 A number of places in the United States:; A township in Clark County, Indiana. countable, uncountable
- 4 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Clayton County, Iowa. countable, uncountable
- 5 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in DeKalb County, Missouri. countable, uncountable
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 A number of places in the United States:; An inactive township in Wright County, Missouri. countable, uncountable
- 7 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Franklin County, North Carolina. countable, uncountable
- 8 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Bedford County, Fulton County and Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. countable, uncountable
- 9 A number of places in the United States:; A township in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. countable, uncountable
- 10 A number of places in the United States:; A small town in Mellette County, South Dakota. countable, uncountable
- 11 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Mason County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable
- 12 A number of places in the United States:; A town in Wood County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
- 13 A place in the United Kingdom:; A hamlet in Ashill parish, Somerset, England (OS grid ref ST3117). countable, uncountable
- 14 A place in the United Kingdom:; A hamlet in Nolton and Roch community, Pembrokeshire, Wales (OS grid ref SM8522). countable, uncountable
Example
"I knew it was plastic but it tasted like wood."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "wood"?
Common synonyms include: forest, acacia, afforestation, alder, arboretum, ash.
How do you use "wood" in a sentence?
I knew it was plastic but it tasted like wood.
How do you pronounce "wood"?
Pronounced /wʊd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English wode, from Old English wudu, widu (“wood, forest, grove; tree; timber”), from Proto-West Germanic *widu, from Proto-Germanic *widuz (“wood”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“to separate”). The spelling developed as it did in wool. Cognate with Dutch wede (“wood, twig”), Middle High German wite (“wood”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Swedish ved (“wood”), Elfdalian wið (“wood, timber”), Faroese, Icelandic viður (“wood”), Norwegian Nynorsk ved (“wood, firewood”), vid (“wide, broad”). Further cognates include Irish fiodh (“a wood, tree”), Irish fid (“tree”) and Welsh gwŷdd (“trees”), from Proto-Celtic *widus (“wood”). Unrelated to Dutch woud (“forest”), German Wald (“forest”) (see English wold).
Etymology 2
From Middle English wood, from Old English wōd (“mad, insane”). See the full etymology at wode.
Etymology 3
Back-formation from peckerwood.