into the woodwork

idiom

used in phrases such as fade into the woodwork to describe someone or something that is not noticed or that seems to disappear
He's so shy that he always seems to fade into the woodwork at parties.

Examples of into the woodwork in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But neither these ghouls nor a lion escaped from Cinecittà poses much in the way of peril to a woman who’ll fade back into the woodwork tomorrow. Peter Debruge, Variety, 1 Sep. 2023 Scott, another candidate seen as a rising potential Trump alternative, seemed to fade into the woodwork for most of the debate, while the lowest-polling candidates, Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, did little to justify their presence onstage. Molly Ball, Time, 24 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'into the woodwork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near into the woodwork

Cite this Entry

“Into the woodwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/into%20the%20woodwork. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!