# wood

> English word · Noun · IPA /wʊd/ · frequency rank #1,743

## Definitions
1. 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.
2. The wood from a particular species of tree.
3. A forested or wooded area.
4. Firewood.
5. A type of golf club, the head of which was traditionally made of wood.
6. A woodwind instrument.
7. An erection of the penis.
8. Chess pieces.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *dwóh₁
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, Swedish ved (“wood”), Elfdalian wið (“wood, timber”), Faroese, Icelandic viður (“wood”), Norwegian Nynorsk ved (“wood, firewood”), vid (“wide, broad”). Further cognates include Irish fiodh (“a wood, tree”), Irish fid (“tree”) and Welsh gwŷdd (“trees”), from Proto-Celtic *widus (“wood”). Unrelated to Dutch woud (“forest”), German Wald (“forest”) (see English wold).

## Easily confused with
- **wow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wow)
- **WTO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wto)
- **wot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wot)
- **wop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wop)
- **wor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wor)
- **WYO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wyo)
- **work** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-work)
- **word** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-word)
- **wore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wore)
- **worn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-worn)
- **wool** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wool)
- **worm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-worm)
- **woof** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-woof)
- **wort** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wort)
- **wook** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wook)
- **wove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-wove)
- **would** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-would)
- **world** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-world)
- **words** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-words)
- **woods** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wood-vs-woods)

## Common misspellings (5)
`owod`, `wod`, `wodo`, `woodd`, `wwood`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wood