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
From the M-W Editors
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 of deadwood from the Web
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LPs up in arms, the widespread firing of unproductive VCs, the wholesale burning of every last scrap of startup deadwood –
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deadwood'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
15th Century
First Known Use of deadwood
15th century
Deadwood
playDefinition of Deadwood
city in the Black Hills of western South Dakota that was settled circa 1876 following the discovery of gold nearby population 1270
DEADWOOD Defined for English Language Learners
deadwood
playDefinition of deadwood for English Language Learners
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: people or things that are not useful or helpful in achieving a goal
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: dead wood on a tree
Learn More about deadwood
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See words that rhyme with deadwood Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for deadwood Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about deadwood
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