woodwork

noun

wood·​work ˈwu̇d-ˌwərk How to pronounce woodwork (audio)
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 Interestingly, a figure who slithered out of the woodwork as a potential buyer of TikTok if ByteDance does divest is Steven T. Mnuchin, who was Trump’s Treasury secretary. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 And there were lots of letters and lots of women coming out of the woodwork, and this inspired some of le Carré's writing and some of the stories that are now famous. Michael Calore Lauren Goode, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024 The tan and white space also features extensive woodwork—including a shawl panel that is the largest continuous wood section ever seen in a Rolls—that took 8,000 hours to complete. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 29 Feb. 2024 Inside the five suites and private riad are handmade tiles, masterful woodwork and plush velvet sofas. Ann Abel, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 This is the home created by the design maven and her husband, Shane, who did much of the work of tearing out woodwork, painting, refinishing floors and installing appliances. Dana Oland, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024 They are reunited after their mother flees the country on a gambling streak, and after a loan shark comes out of the woodwork, the sisters come up with a scheme for Anne to go on her favorite game show to get enough money to pay him back. Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 27 Nov. 2023 Bellingham hit the woodwork early in Thursday’s game and set up Joselu Mato to make it 2-2, but he was denied a goal. Joseph Wilson, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024 After Elon Musk acquired Twitter (now X), other companies came out of the woodwork to offer alternatives. Josh Hendrickson, PCMAG, 6 Feb. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of woodwork was circa 1609

Dictionary Entries Near woodwork

Cite this Entry

“Woodwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woodwork. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

woodwork

noun
wood·​work -ˌwərk How to pronounce woodwork (audio)
: work made of wood
especially : interior fittings (as window frames or stairways) of wood
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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