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wood

wood

6 7.4
A wind instrument like a flute or clarinet that you play by blowing air
  • noun
  • /wʊd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : 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
3 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
6.8

You say it to avoid bad luck after saying something good

to saw wood
  • Informal
9.0

Make loud snoring noises while sleeping

8.3

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

Compounds

8 3.5

Using wood to make heat for a room or for cooking

7 2.0

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

wood pulp
  • Specialized
3 3.0

Soft, wet material made from wood used to make paper

2 3.5

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

2 3.5

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

2 3.0

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

wood nymph
  • Literature
2 9.5

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

dead wood
  • Offensive
1 6.5

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

1 5.8

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

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

1 4.8

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

1 6.4

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

wood alcohol
  • Archaic
1 7.1

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

1 3.5

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

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

1 8.7

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

1 2.5

Wood that has not been smoothed or painted

1 5.5

Reddish-brown ant that builds large anthills in forests

1 5.9

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

1 4.5

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

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

1 8.1

A large North American bird that sings beautifully in eastern woods

1 7.4

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

1 8.4

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

brier-wood
  • Specialized
9.9

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

bow wood
  • Specialized
9.9

A small tree with hard orange wood used to make bows

9.9

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

Wood used to make cabinets and fine furniture

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

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

9.9

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

8.9

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

A North American fern with leaves that stay green all year

A small brown mouse that is active at night and lives in woods and gardens in Europe

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

A North American fern with evergreen, leathery leaves that grows in woods

lemon-wood tree
  • South African
8.3

An evergreen tree from South Africa with tough wood used for furniture

lemon-wood
  • South African
9.3

An evergreen tree from South Africa with very hard wood used for furniture

marble-wood
  • Indian
9.9

A large Asian tree with very hard, striped wood used for fine furniture

A common North American fern with evergreen fronds that grows in shade

A golf club with a metal head used for long shots

9.9

A small bush with flexible branches and yellow spring flowers

9.9

A small maple tree with green-and-white striped bark and yellow autumn leaves

Goldie's wood fern
  • Specialized
9.2

A large fern with a dark shiny stalk that grows in wet woods

granadilla wood
  • Specialized
9.5

A hard dark tropical wood that instrument makers use for clarinets

guaiac wood
  • Specialized
9.9

Hard, heavy wood from a tree used to make perfume oil and medicine

guaiacum wood
  • Specialized
9.9

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

A North American plant that grows in woods with pale blue or purple spotted flowers

9.9

A large dark bird that lives in forests in Europe and Asia

Scented wood from some trees that makes a sweet smell when burned

myall wood
  • Australian
9.9

A hard dark material from an Australian acacia tree with a faint pleasant smell, used for spears and ornaments

needle wood
  • Australian
9.9

A large bush with sharp pointed leaves and creamy white flowers

needle-wood
  • Australian
9.9

A large bush with sharp pointed leaves and creamy white flowers from central and eastern Australia

7.7

A long golf club that you use to hit the ball far from the tee

ridgebone wood
  • Specialized
9.9

A strong, attractive wood people use to make furniture and buildings

ruby wood
  • Indian
9.4

Strong red wood from a tree used to make fine furniture and boxes

9.9

Wood from a tropical tree that looks like mahogany and is used for furniture

9.9

A medium-sized tree that grows in the southeastern United States with leaves that turn golden in autumn

9.9

Hard red wood from a tropical tree with a prickly trunk used for cabinets and dye

pernambuco wood
  • Specialized
9.9

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

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

tar-wood
  • New Zealand
9.9

A New Zealand tree or shrub with thin branches that grows in cold, wet places

9.8

A tropical American tree with large broad leaves and hollow stems often planted in gardens for decoration

9.1

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

How Low

bassoon
8 7.4
saxophone
54 2.9
wood
  • Specialized
6 7.4
clarinet
42 3.1
oboe
13 5.0
flute
75 1.5
piccolo
5 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.