Dictionary

deadwood en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈdedwʊd/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• /dedˈwʊd/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• /dɛdˈwʉd/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
• (US) audio
• /dɛdˈwʊd/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈdɛdwɵd/ (British, Southern, Standard)
• /ˈdɛdwʊd/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈdɛdwʉd/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
• /dɛdˈwɵd/ (British, Southern, Standard)

Etymology

From dead + wood.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Dead branches or wood on a tree, or coarse woody debris.
2. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) People or things judged to be superfluous to an organization or project.
3. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Money not realized by exiting a winning pump trade too early.
4. (countable, uncountable) Pins that have fallen and have not been cleared from the alley.
5. (countable, uncountable) Vertical planks between the keel and the sternpost that act as reinforcement.
6. (broadly, countable, uncountable) Structural material on a load-carrying vehicle that reduces the available cargo space.
   • The defendant […] sustained the injuries at Swatzell's switch, by getting his arm caught between the deadwoods of two freight cars […] 1808, The Southwestern Reporter, volume 42, page 1066:
7. (countable, qualifier:rummy, uncountable) Cards in a hand that do not contribute to sets and which are usually counted as points against the player holding the hand.
8. (countable, uncountable) Cards that have been discarded.

Forms

Synonyms

deadfall

Translations (2)

fr potiche (People or things judged to be superfluous to an organization or project.) · pl grupa nieproduktywnych pracowników (People or things judged to be superfluous to an organization or project.)