Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
come out of the woodwork. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
come out of the woodwork, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
come out of the woodwork in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
come out of the woodwork you have here. The definition of the word
come out of the woodwork will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
come out of the woodwork, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From the idea of insects crawling out from inside the woodwork in a house.
Pronunciation
Verb
come out of the woodwork (third-person singular simple present comes out of the woodwork, present participle coming out of the woodwork, simple past came out of the woodwork, past participle come out of the woodwork)
- (idiomatic, derogatory) to appear or emerge unexpectedly or inexplicably, frequently in large numbers or quantity.
- Antonym: blend into the woodwork
He won the lottery last year and he has had old "friends" and distant relatives coming out of the woodwork ever since.
1947 May, Colonel S. Legree, “We Must Get Together”, in Infantry Journal, volume 60, number 5, page 26:[...] 90-day wonders [...] were kicked around by harassed Regulars who were [...] just too busy to take time to spare the feelings of those strange creatures who came out of the woodwork and wanted the privileges of officers, without being fully prepared to do the work of officers.
1992, Robert P. Newman, chapter 0, in Owen Lattimore and the “Loss” of China, page 227:Would-be informants came crawling out of the woodwork, drawn to McCarthy as moths to light, each peddling a new version of Lattimore's evil deeds.
2006, John Marsden, Circle of Flight: The Ellie Chronicles: 3, unnumbered page:And suddenly they came out of the woodwork. I don't actually know what that expression means. What come out of the woodwork? Cockroaches maybe. Mice?
2012, Enzo Centofanti, chapter 0, in Out of Africa and into America: The Odyssey of Italians in East Africa, page 136:With the fall of the fascist regime, Italy was virtually overrun by several political parties who came out of the woodwork to fill in the vacuum.
See also