Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wood

/wʊd/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.78 in modern English

Syllables
wood
IPA
/wʊd/
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The substance making up the central part of the trunk and branches of a tree. Used as a material for construction, to manufacture various items, etc. or as fuel.

Uncountable

noun

The wood from a particular species of tree.

Countable

noun

A forested or wooded area.

Countable

noun

Firewood.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A type of golf club, the head of which was traditionally made of wood.

Countable

noun

A woodwind instrument.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An erection of the penis.

Slang; Uncountable

noun

Chess pieces.

Slang; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-us Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)wéydʰ(h₁)us Proto-Germanic *widuz Proto-West Germanic *widu Old English widu Old English wudu Middle English wode English wood From Middle English wode, from Old English wudu, widu (“wood, forest, grove; tree; timber”), from Proto-West Germanic *widu, from Proto-Germanic *widuz (“wood”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“to separate”). The spelling developed as it did in wool. Cognate with Dutch wede (“wood, twig”), Middle High German wite (“wood”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish ved (“wood”), Elfdalian wið (“wood, timber”), Faroese and Icelandic viður (“wood”), Norwegian Nynorsk ved (“wood, firewood”), vid (“wide, broad”). Further cognates include Irish fiodh (“a wood, tree”), Old Irish fid (“tree”) and Welsh gwŷdd (“trees”), from Proto-Celtic *widus (“wood”). Unrelated to Dutch woud (“forest”), German Wald (“forest”) (see English wold).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /wʊd/
  • British English: /wʊd/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in People.

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Homonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce wood?
The recorded pronunciation is /wʊd/.
What does wood mean?
The substance making up the central part of the trunk and branches of a tree. Used as a material for construction, to manufacture various items, etc. or as fuel.
Where does wood come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce wood

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