come out of the woodwork

come out of the wood·work

C c

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [kuhm out uhv, ov stressed th ee woo d-wurk]
- /kʌm aʊt ʌv, ɒv stressed ði ˈwʊdˌwɜrk/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [kuhm out uhv, ov stressed th ee woo d-wurk]
- /kʌm aʊt ʌv, ɒv stressed ði ˈwʊdˌwɜrk/

Definitions of come out of the woodwork words

phrase come out of the woodwork If you say that people are coming out of the woodwork, you are criticizing them for suddenly appearing in public or revealing their opinions when previously they did not make themselves known. 3
noun come out of the woodwork to come out of hiding or obscurity 3
noun come out of the woodwork objects or parts made of wood. 1
noun come out of the woodwork the interior wooden fittings, especially of a house, as doors, stairways, or moldings. 1
idioms come out of the woodwork come out of the woodwork, Informal. to appear or materialize suddenly and unexpectedly: Since mortgage rates declined, prospective buyers have been coming out of the woodwork. 1
verb come out of the woodwork (Idiomatic) to appear or emerge unexpectedly or inexplicably, frequently in large numbers or quantity. 0

before 1640

One of the 44% oldest English words

First recorded in 1640-50; wood1 + work

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 92% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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