deadwood

dead·wood

noun \-ˌwu̇d\

Definition of DEADWOOD

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

Examples of DEADWOOD

1. She's determined to get the deadwood out of the company.
2. a healthy tree with no deadwood

First Known Use of DEADWOOD

15th century

Related to DEADWOOD

Synonyms

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

Related Words

crud, sewage, slop, swill, wash; detritus, remains, rubble, ruins; dump, scrap heap; lumber, odds and ends, trumpery; flotsam, jetsam, wreckage; castoff, cull, discard, hand-me-down, reject, throwaway; nothing, straw, two bits

Near Antonyms

catch, gem, goody (or goodie), jewel, pearl, plum, prize, treasure, treasure trove, trove, valuable; booty, find, salvage

Rhymes with DEADWOOD

Atwood, aunthood, basswood, beefwood, bentwood, blackwood, boxwood, boyhood, brushwood, childhood, cordwood, corkwood, do-good, dogwood, driftwood, falsehood, fatwood, feel-good, firewood, for good, fruitwood, Gielgud, girlhood, godhood, greasewood, greenwood, groundwood, gumwood, hardwood, heartwood, ironwood, kingwood, knighthood, lancewood, logwood, maidhood, make good, manhood, matchwood, monkhood, monkshood, no-good, pinewood, plywood, priesthood, pulpwood, redwood, rosewood, sainthood, selfhood, softwood, sonhood, springwood, statehood, stinkwood, Talmud, teakwood, torchwood, unhood, whitewood, wifehood, wildwood, wormwood