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
Bit by bit, deadwood is decomposed, feeding new life along the way.
—
Katarina Zimmer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Forest fires clear away deadwood to promote new growth; decisive defeat in war creates space for societal transformations.
—Todd Pittinsky, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2024
The genus is known to feed on deadwood, dead leaves, leaf litter or lichens, according to Hoare.
—Rina Diane Caballar, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2023
Only the White has the right balance of water, sediment, sandbars with backwaters, sheltering cottonwood forests and pool-forming deadwood to sustain themselves without hatchery help.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 30 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for deadwood
Katarina Zimmer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Forest fires clear away deadwood to promote new growth; decisive defeat in war creates space for societal transformations.
—Todd Pittinsky, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2024
The genus is known to feed on deadwood, dead leaves, leaf litter or lichens, according to Hoare.
—Rina Diane Caballar, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2023
Only the White has the right balance of water, sediment, sandbars with backwaters, sheltering cottonwood forests and pool-forming deadwood to sustain themselves without hatchery help.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 30 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for deadwood
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadwood
Noun
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For those with patience to keep them free of debris and properly chlorinated (or, more realistically, the funds to hire someone), there’s probably just enough time to close on one of these homes before a mid-season heat wave.—
Matthew Sedacca,
Curbed,
28 Apr. 2025
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The lot was activated because of the magnitude of storm debris that had to be removed from the basins.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Unlike a regular old garbage bag, these are leakproof and durable (and thus much harder for a squirrel to rip into, if given the chance).—
Sara Coughlin,
SELF,
22 Apr. 2025
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Four 20-pound bags of hamburger buns and sandwich breads got hit with Stop Sales, sending 80 pounds of bread into the garbage.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Among the debris were bricks, tins of paint, stones, and other assorted rubbish.—
Arick Wierson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Apr. 2025
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The effort has so far transformed more than 10 tons of flowers from would-be rubbish into fragrant souvenirs.—
Travel + Leisure Editors,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Mar. 2025
Noun
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There’s even been a rare dose of reality-style drama, as when contestant Shuai Wang accidentally tossed teammate Henry Lu’s entire mise en place setup in the trash — removing all the pickles from a dish in a pickle-centric challenge and sending Henry to the bottom.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
1 May 2025
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Tens of thousands of dollars in artwork may have ended up in the trash during a town hall renovation in the Netherlands.—
Lillian Ali,
Smithsonian Magazine,
30 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The European Space Agency estimates that there are approximately 130 million pieces of space junk from the over 6,800 successful rocket launches that have occurred since 1957.—
Eileen Falkenberg-Hull,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
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Raised in the United Kingdom, Tiller has made a career in two tracks: Studying respiratory medicine and debunking junk science.—
Rustin Dodd,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
Noun
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The optional speakers can run on battery power for up to eight hours (recharged via USB-C port), and are rated to IP54 dust and water resistance.—
John Archer,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
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Clouds form when water vapor condenses around tiny particles like dust or salt.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deadwood.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadwood. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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