wooden
adjectivecommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈwɵdn̩//
- United States//ˈwʊdn̩//
- Scotland//ˈwʉdn̩//
Made of wood.
adjective
- 1
Made of wood.
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.
- 2
figurativeAs if made of wood; moving awkwardly, or speaking with dull lack of emotion.
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.
Forms
- comparative
- more wooden
- superlative
- most wooden