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wood

wood

1 7.4
A wind instrument like a flute or clarinet that you play by blowing air
  • noun
  • /wʊd/
  • Specialized
: instrumento de viento-madera
  • During the music class, we learned about different wood wind instruments, including the flute and clarinet.

Examples

  • The orchestra featured a beautiful wood wind section playing melodies that captivated the audience.

  • She played the wood wind instrument with skill, producing a sound that filled the concert hall.

  • The floor underneath was an old dark wood, which I thought was attractive for a New York apartment, though the wood did appear to be rotting.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The oboe, after all, is a piece of hollowed wood with holes drilled in it.

    Academic text (2014)
  • She entered her kitchen, lifted the loose chunk of wood behind the drainboard, and removed her knife from its hiding place.

    Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

woodwind
vswood
6 4.2

An instrument that makes sound when you blow into or across it, like a flute

focuses on the category without mentioning typical materials
1 3.6

A musical instrument that makes sound when you blow air, often using a reed, like a clarinet or oboe

is the single-word form used for the same instrument class

Idioms

knock on wood
  • Informal
13 6.8

You say it to avoid bad luck after saying something good

1 8.3

You say it to try to stop bad luck after saying something good

to saw wood
  • Informal
9.0

Make loud snoring noises while sleeping

Compounds

9 2.0

A stove that burns wood to heat a room or cook food

7 3.5

Using wood to make heat for a room or for cooking

4 3.5

A very light, strong wood from a tree that grows in hot countries used for making models and floats

Thin curled pieces of wood used to protect or cushion objects, like bedding for animals

wood pulp
  • Specialized
3 3.0

Soft, wet material made from wood used to make paper

wood nymph
  • Literature
3 9.5

A female spirit who lives in a forest and watches over the trees

2 3.0

The lines and patterns you see on the surface of wood that its long thin parts make

dead wood
  • Offensive
2 6.5

People or parts of a company that do not help the work

2 3.5

Art of shaping wood with cutting tools to make figures and designs

2 6.4

A small animal that bites people and animals in woods and can spread disease

2 5.8

A brightly colored North American duck that nests in tree holes near water

1 4.8

A block of wood with a carved design used to make prints on paper or cloth

1 8.1

A large North American bird that sings beautifully in eastern woods

1 3.5

A hand tool with a sharp blade used to cut and shape wood

wood alcohol
  • Archaic
1 7.1

A poisonous, flammable liquid once made from wood that people use as fuel or solvent

1 8.7

A place in northwest France where a major World War I battle happened in 1918

1 5.9

A small light brown frog that lives in moist North American forests

1 5.5

Reddish-brown ant that builds large anthills in forests

1 2.5

Wood that has not been smoothed or painted

1 6.7

A small wild animal like a rat that lives in forests, builds nests, and often collects things

1 5.6

A large grey bird with white patches on its wings and neck

guaiacum wood
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A hard, strongly scented wood from tropical trees used for oil, carving and medicine

A print or method of making prints by cutting a design into a wood block and pressing paper onto it

1 6.0

A black material made by heating wood without air, used for drawing and fuel

1 7.4

A large wading bird with a long curved bill and a bald head that lives in American swamps

wood spirit
  • Specialized
1 9.4

A poisonous alcohol people make by heating wood, used as fuel or solvent

1 8.4

A small bright North American bird that sings a weak simple song

1 4.5

A small furry animal with a long tail that lives in woods

1 9.1

A tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit, silky bark used to make rope, and wood used for boards

1 5.1

A very hard, almost black wood that people use for fine furniture and musical instruments

1 7.2

A small plant with clover-like leaves and yellow or white flowers that grows in woods and meadows

wood hen
  • New Zealand
1 9.8

A flightless bird from New Zealand with small spikes on its wings that is bold and curious

pernambuco wood
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A hard red wood from a Brazilian tree that makers use for violin bows and fine furniture

1 6.5

A plant with divided, lacy leaves that grows in woods

1 4.2

A golf club with a metal head used for long shots

1 4.9

Wood used to make cabinets and fine furniture

1 9.9

A male duck with bright colourful feathers found in North America

1 8.0

A small wildflower with white or pale pink flowers that grows in woods

wood tar
  • Specialized
1 7.3

A dark sticky liquid made by heating wood that protects things from water

A small plant with clover-like leaves and purple-pink flowers

1 7.4

A small grey animal with a flat, segmented body that lives under damp logs or stones

1 8.8

A forest plant with three leaves at the top of the stem and one three-petaled flower

1 4.2

A rough tool with sharp teeth that shapes and smooths wood

needle wood
  • Australian
1 9.9

A large bush with sharp pointed leaves and creamy white flowers

1 8.2

A small wild flower that grows in woods in eastern North America

bow wood
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small tree with hard orange wood used to make bows

1 2.2

An action when someone cuts wood by moving a blade back and forth

wood sugar
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A sweetener made from wood or straw often used instead of sugar by people with diabetes

wood-rat
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A small rodent like a mouse from North America with a bushy tail that collects things for its nest

1 9.9

A wetland bird with long legs and a long curved bill that lives in Africa and Asia

1 9.1

A small plant that grows in woods with clusters of white star-shaped flowers

1 6.6

A small plant that grows in woods with blue, pink, or white flowers shaped like bells

1 9.5

A small brownish bird in woods that catches insects and calls with a soft whistle

1 7.9

A woodland plant with stinging hairs that can hurt your skin

1 9.9

A perennial woodland plant with greenish-yellow flower clusters

1 8.9

A bush with tough, flexible wood that people use to make arrows

A plant that grows in shady woods with many long leaves that smell pleasant

1 8.1

A wild flower with orange-red petals and purple spots that grows in eastern North American woods

1 7.7

A small plant with bright yellow flowers that grows in shady woods

wood swallow
  • Australian
1 9.1

A small bird with long wings that lives near trees and eats insects

wood vise
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A tool with padded jaws that holds wood firmly while you work on it

brier-wood
  • Specialized
9.9

Wood from the hard root of a small bush used to make smoking pipes

9.9

A small tree or bush with hard yellow and brown seeds used to make bracelets

9.9

A small tree from Dominica that makes many large red flowers before its leaves grow

caviuna wood
  • Specialized
9.9

A heavy, hard dark wood from a Brazilian tree with black streaks used for furniture and instruments

Chinese wood oil
  • Specialized
8.9

A yellow liquid from tung tree seeds that dries quickly and protects wood

A small forest plant with three heart-shaped leaves and white flowers with purple veins

coral-wood
  • Indian
9.9

A tree from East India with small yellow-white flowers grown for decoration in gardens

A small weed that grows close to the ground with leaves like a clover and small yellow flowers

A small plant with soft, hairy leaves and pink or purple flowers

dry-wood termite
  • Specialized
8.1

A small insect that lives in and eats dry wood not touching the ground

A North American wood rat with dark feet that builds large stick nests

9.9

A small tree with large umbrella-shaped leaves and white spring flowers

How Low

bassoon
7 7.4
saxophone
51 2.9
wood
  • Specialized
1 7.4
clarinet
40 3.1
oboe
14 5.0
flute
67 1.5
piccolo
3 7.5

Surface Forms

wood singular
woods plural

Etymology

Wood meaning a wind instrument is short for woodwind, because these instruments were often made of 'wood' and are played by the player's breath or 'wind', so the orchestra calls that group the wood section.