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
The pyre was probably built by collecting and assembling at least 30 kilograms of deadwood and grass, which would have required considerable community effort.
—
ArsTechnica,
5 Jan. 2026
Trying to talk sense into him would be useless, however, so a wounded Leroy hands off the dagger to Will and gives him instructions on where to bury it, reasoning that Will and his friends will be able to get to the deadwood without the military spotting them.
—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
15 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for deadwood
ArsTechnica,
5 Jan. 2026
Trying to talk sense into him would be useless, however, so a wounded Leroy hands off the dagger to Will and gives him instructions on where to bury it, reasoning that Will and his friends will be able to get to the deadwood without the military spotting them.
—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
15 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for deadwood
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadwood
Noun
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The heat softens and loosens debris in the carpet fibers so it can be vacuumed away.
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Clean Up Birdseed and Debris Fallen birdseed and other organic debris serve as an open invitation to chipmunks.
Noun
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Since construction at the Eagle Rock site — so nicknamed after a decrepit colonnade — first stalled in 2008, the only thing that accumulated faster than the garbage and graffiti were the epithets from outraged community members.
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Relying Too Much On Garbage Disposals Though the name may be deceiving, garbage disposals aren’t actually designed to dispose of all garbage.
Noun
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So where does the rubbish come from?
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With no petrol to run dustbin trucks, rubbish is being burnt in the streets.
Noun
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In the 1980s, the Friends of the LA River pushed to address street runoff and trash that had made the water body infamous.
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In the city of Miami, improperly disposing trash — like taking the trash from one of your homes and throwing it away in another of your property’s bins — can result in a $525 fine.
Noun
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Gonzales ran with a platform decisively to the left, supporting Medicare-for-all, raising the minimum wage and cracking down on junk fees.
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Tire pressure sensors are vital to a vehicle’s health, especially when driving on pothole and junk-laden Atlanta streets.
Noun
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Considered rare in the cosmos, super-puffs are thought to form around the disk of gas and dust around a newborn star where there is more gas than dust.
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The dust-ups might have driven the Honeywells away from their island paradise, more casualties of the lottery curse.
Cite this Entry
“Deadwood.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadwood. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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