matchwood C2 Topic:Materials & Substances US /ˈmætʃˌwʊd/ UK /ˈmætʃwʊd/ See IPA manual Freq #191287 Meanings 1 noun wood reduced to small splinters, especially by violent damage The fallen beam smashed the old chair into matchwood. 2 noun wood suitable for making matchsticks The mill once processed soft timber into matchwood. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · wood reduced to small... splintersfragments 2 noun · wood suitable for making... matchstick wood ↔ Opposites intact timber Word family Related forms matchsticksplintertimber Etymology Formed from match + wood. Its literal industrial sense is wood for matches; the common expression smash or reduce to matchwood compares shattered timber with match-sized splinters. Topics Materials & Substances External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # matchwood **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈmætʃˌwʊd/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈmætʃwʊd/ **Frequency rank:** 191287 ## Meanings 1. wood reduced to small splinters, especially by violent damage 2. wood suitable for making matchsticks ## Examples - The fallen beam smashed the old chair into matchwood. - The mill once processed soft timber into matchwood. ## Synonyms - splinters - fragments ## Antonyms - intact timber ## Related Forms - matchstick - splinter - timber ## Etymology Formed from match + wood. Its literal industrial sense is wood for matches; the common expression smash or reduce to matchwood compares shattered timber with match-sized splinters. ## Topics - Materials & Substances markdown