deadwood

noun

dead·​wood ˈded-ˌwu̇d 

1

: wood dead on the tree

2

: useless personnel or material

3

: solid timbers built in at the extreme bow and stern of a ship when too narrow to permit framing

4

: bowling pins that have been knocked down but remain on the alley

Synonyms

• chaff
• debris
• dreck
• drek
• dross
• dust
• effluvium
• effluvia
• garbage
• junk
• litter
• offal
• offscouring
• raffle
• refuse
• riffraff
• rubbish
• scrap
• spilth
• trash
• truck
• waste

Examples of deadwood in a Sentence

She's determined to get the deadwood out of the company.

a healthy tree with no deadwood

Recent Examples on the Web

Forest fires clear away deadwood to promote new growth; decisive defeat in war creates space for societal transformations. —Todd Pittinsky, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2024

The genus is known to feed on deadwood, dead leaves, leaf litter or lichens, according to Hoare. —Rina Diane Caballar, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2023

Only the White has the right balance of water, sediment, sandbars with backwaters, sheltering cottonwood forests and pool-forming deadwood to sustain themselves without hatchery help. —Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 30 June 2023

If your maple is in poor health, make minimal cuts or limit yourself to deadwood removal. —oregonlive, 25 June 2023

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

deadwood

noun

dead·​wood -ˌwu̇d 

1

: wood that is dead on a tree

2

: useless material or unproductive persons

Geographical Definition

Deadwood

geographical name

Dead·​wood ˈded-ˌwu̇d 

city in the Black Hills of western South Dakota that was settled circa 1876 following the discovery of gold nearby population 1270