deadwood

D2E1A1D2W4O1O1D2
Canada, US, UK/ˈdɛdwʊd/Canada, US, UK/dɛdˈwʊd/British, Southern, Standard/ˈdɛdwɵd/British, Southern, Standard/dɛdˈwɵd/

noun

Dead branches or wood on a tree, or coarse woody debris.

Less commonScrabble 14

Meanings

deadwood1

noundeadwood (countable and uncountable, plural deadwoods)

plural deadwoods

  1. countableuncountableDead branches or wood on a tree, or coarse woody debris.

    Synonyms: deadfall

  2. countablefigurativelyuncountablePeople or things judged to be superfluous to an organization or project.
  3. countablefigurativelyuncountableMoney not realized by exiting a winning pump trade too early.
  4. countableuncountablebowlingPins that have fallen and have not been cleared from the alley.
  5. countableuncountablenauticalVertical planks between the keel and the sternpost that act as reinforcement.
  6. broadlycountableuncountableStructural material on a load-carrying vehicle that reduces the available cargo space.

    The defendant […] sustained the injuries at Swatzell's switch, by getting his arm caught between the deadwoods of two freight cars […]

    1808, The Southwestern Reporter, volume 42, page 1066
  7. countableuncountablerummycard gamesCards in a hand that do not contribute to sets and which are usually counted as points against the player holding the hand.
  8. countableuncountablecard gamesCards that have been discarded.

Deadwood2

Synonyms & antonyms

nounDead branches or wood on a tree, or coarse woody debris.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nounsomeone or something that is unwanted and unneeded

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

French potiche
  • potichePeople or things judged to be superfluous to an organization or project.
Polish grupa nieproduktywnych pracowników
  • grupa nieproduktywnych pracownikówPeople or things judged to be superfluous to an organization or project.

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with deadwood

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

deadwood. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deadwood

MLA

“deadwood.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deadwood. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deadwood,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deadwood.

Source: deadwood on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.