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deadwood

noun dead·wood \ -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

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Examples of deadwood in a Sentence

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

  2. a healthy tree with no deadwood

Recent Examples of deadwood from the Web

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.

First Known Use of deadwood

15th century

deadwood Synonyms

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

Deadwood

geographical name Dead·wood \ ˈded-ˌwu̇d \

Definition 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

noun

Definition of deadwood for English Language Learners

  • : people or things that are not useful or helpful in achieving a goal

  • : dead wood on a tree

Learn More about deadwood

  1. See words that rhyme with deadwood Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for deadwood Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about deadwood

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Examples: deadwood in a Sentence