as in debris
discarded or useless material
much of the material in the file cabinets is just deadwood
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deadwood
With Rich's ghostly helping hand, Will, Lilly, Ronnie, and Marge are able to plant the dagger in the deadwood's roots, re-lock the cage, and send It back into one of its 27-year hibernation periods.
—
Megan McCluskey, Time, 15 Dec. 2025
The lawsuit states that the branch fell from a tree that was clearly unhealthy, decayed and had deadwood.
—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2025
And some old-growth forests have abundant deadwood, both standing and on the ground, whereas others are kept largely clear of deadwood by frequent fires.
—Reed Frederick Noss, The Conversation, 16 Apr. 2025
But deadwood—and the biodiversity associated with it—has severely declined in many forests worldwide.
—Katarina Zimmer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deadwood
Megan McCluskey, Time, 15 Dec. 2025
The lawsuit states that the branch fell from a tree that was clearly unhealthy, decayed and had deadwood.
—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2025
And some old-growth forests have abundant deadwood, both standing and on the ground, whereas others are kept largely clear of deadwood by frequent fires.
—Reed Frederick Noss, The Conversation, 16 Apr. 2025
But deadwood—and the biodiversity associated with it—has severely declined in many forests worldwide.
—Katarina Zimmer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deadwood
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadwood
Noun
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Besides damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Feb. 2026
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Between soil prep, clearing debris, and starting seeds, there's a lot on the pre-spring gardening to-do list— and pruning tends to be one of the first tasks to tackle.—
Nishaa Sharma,
The Spruce,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In the early days, Romanucci and Blandin started in a small office with a card table and a plastic bag for the garbage.—
Gregory Royal Pratt,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Mar. 2026
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Grant Nelson, signed to a 10-day contract earlier in the afternoon, saw garbage minutes late alongside Wolf, Ben Saraf, Jalen Wilson and Ochai Agbaji.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Piles of human scraps offer a bottomless buffet to wildlife, and to access that bounty, animals need to be bold enough to rummage through human rubbish but not so bold as to become a threat to people.—
Marina Wang,
Scientific American,
14 Nov. 2025
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Helga once wrestled down a drunk fisherman in the Café, a man of above-average size, and then threw him out like a piece of rubbish; Jens thus transfers most of his weight automatically to her; who is this kid, by the way?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The language allowed trash-taking sugar critics to be hauled into court, not only for dissing sugar, but for dissing how it is grown.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Feb. 2026
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According to the report, officers responded to a dispatch call describing Petit as a transient carrying a gun and lighting trash on fire in a residential neighborhood.—
Andrea Klick,
Daily News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The fallout includes damaged reputations, irate customers and lost confidence and early final resting places at junk yards.—
Ed Sokalski,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
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While no crew member appears to have been in any danger, the incident highlights how space junk continues to be a major problem for humanity’s presence in space.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Over time, that greasy film that settles on your wood cabinets can trap dirt and dust, making the buildup hard to remove.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
1 Mar. 2026
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Eleven years later, Ajo resident Bill Eltzroth complained to the county and ADEQ that the facility’s operations coated his back porch in thick black dust.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
1 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deadwood.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadwood. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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