woodwork

noun

wood·​work ˈwu̇d-ˌwərk 

1

: work made of wood

especially : interior fittings (such as moldings or stairways) of wood

2

: a place or state of concealment, seclusion, or anonymity

witnesses came out of the woodwork when a reward was offered

Examples of woodwork in a Sentence

We painted the walls white and the woodwork red.

The kick hit the woodwork.

Recent Examples on the Web

Many people have come out of the woodwork and jumped on the bandwagon, which irritated me. —Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026

A lot of woodwork will be replaced and also stripped and rebuilt. —Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 17 Mar. 2026

Le Havre, which moved 10 points away from the automatic relegation spots, hit the woodwork twice. —ABC News, 15 Mar. 2026

The false death of Nicholas Bell (David Morse) — which evolved from a heart attack and Bailey’s grandfather being poisoned — brought malicious forces out of the woodwork. —Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 14 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing woodwork

• come/crawl out of the woodwork
• fade into the woodwork
• into the woodwork

Rhymes for woodwork

• artwork
• beadwork
• berserk
• breastwork
• brickwork
• brushwork
• casework
• classwork
• clockwork
• coursework
• ductwork
• earthwork

Kids Definition

woodwork

noun

wood·​work -ˌwərk 

: work made of wood

especially : interior fittings (as window frames or stairways) of wood