Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wooden

/ˈwʊdn̩/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.33 in modern English

Syllables: wood-en
IPA: /ˈwʊdn̩/

10

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

adj

As if made of wood; moving awkwardly, or speaking with dull lack of emotion.

name

Example Sentences

"a wooden boat"
"On a recent windy day, hundreds of visitors climbed wooden stairs to take pictures in front of the glacier."
"There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs,[…], and all these articles[…] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished."
"Using a tractor fan, shock absorbers, PVC pipes, a bicycle frame and anything else he could lay his hands on, he then built a rudimentary wooden tower, plonked his home-made generator on the top, and eventually got one, and then four bulbs to light up."
"The second and third quarters of the shield are indecipherable on the stone but clearer in two other representations of the arms, a painted wooden funeral hatchment for Mary Davie[…]"
"wooden acting"

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From wood + -en. Dates from 1530s, gradually replaced treen (“made from a tree”), from Middle English treen, from Old English triewen.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: wood

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈwʊdn̩/
British English: /ˈwʊdn̩/

Inflected Forms

more wooden (comparative) most wooden (superlative) wodden (alternative, obsolete) Woodens (plural)

Derived Forms

nonwooden unwooden Woodenbridge woodener woodenest woodenhead woodenheaded woodenish woodenly woodenness woodentop woodenware

Phrases

don't take any wooden nickels wooden anniversary wooden coat wooden ear wooden fish wooden-headed wooden horse wooden kimono

Rhymes With

gooden goodin goulden boulden

Questions

How do you pronounce wooden?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈwʊdn̩/.
What does wooden mean?: Made of wood.
Where does wooden come from?: PIE word *dwóh₁ From wood + -en. Dates from 1530s, gradually replaced treen (“made from a tree”), from Middle English treen, from Old English triewen.

How to pronounce wooden

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wooden”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈwʊdn̩/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wooden”.
Repeat and practice — Say “wooden” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.