DEADWOOD Definition & Meaning

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deadwood

[ ded-wood ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the dead branches on a tree; dead branches or trees.
useless or burdensome persons or things:
He cut the deadwood from his staff.
(in writing) unnecessary words, phrases, or exposition; expendable verbiage:
This could be a thoughtful and incisive essay if you get rid of the deadwood.
Nautical. a solid construction, serving only as reinforcement, located between the keel of a vessel and the stem or sternpost.
Bowling. pins remaining on the alley after having been knocked down by the ball.
Cards.
1. Rummy. cards in a hand that have not been included in sets and are usually counted as points against the holder.
2. Poker. cards that have been discarded.

deadwood

/ ˈ��ɛ��ˌ��ʊ�� /

noun

dead trees or branches
informal.
a useless person; encumbrance
nautical a filler piece between the keel and the stern of a wooden vessel

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of deadwood¹

First recorded in 1720–30; dead + wood ¹

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He will reshape the culture, clear out the deadwood and refine the focus on competition.

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Their grazing also reduced fire hazards, as did local families collecting deadwood to burn in the winter.

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West: A century of firefighting, elimination of Indigenous burning, logging of large fire-resistant trees, and other management practices that allowed small trees, undergrowth and deadwood to choke forests.

From

Through photosynthesis, carbon transforms into biomass, which eventually dies and becomes leaf litter or deadwood.

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He said it was part of an exercise to "cut the deadwood out of the police force".

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