What does woodchip mean?
A woodchip is a small fragment of wood produced when wood is cut, planed, broken, or milled. The term may refer to an individual piece or, collectively, to the fragments generated by woodworking or forestry. Woodchips commonly occur in woodworking and construction, where they are swept up or used as filler. They are also widely used as mulch around plants, as material in products such as particle board, and as fuel in specialized boilers. The word can sound mundane, but it refers to material that has been repurposed rather than simply discarded. In modern industries, woodchips demonstrate how a by-product of one process can become useful in several others, including landscaping, manufacturing, paper production, and energy generation. Although “wood chip” is also encountered as an open compound, the single-word form “woodchip” is standard in contemporary dictionaries.
nounA small, usually hard fragment of wood produced by cutting, planing, breaking, or milling wood.
- A small fragment of wood produced by cutting, planing, breaking, or milling it.
"She scattered woodchips around the base of the apple tree to help retain moisture."
"Woodchips covered the floor of the workshop."
"The heating system burns woodchips supplied by a local forestry company."
The standard plural adds -s to the complete compound.
"Fresh woodchips were spread over the garden bed."
Woodchips are woodworking's smallest useful leftovers—and mulch, pulp, and fuel can make those leftovers valuable in bulk.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does woodchip come from?
Woodchip is an English compound formed from wood and chip. The element wood descends from Old English wudu, while chip denotes a small fragment made by cutting or breaking a material. Modern applications in forestry, landscaping, manufacturing, and energy reflect the usefulness of wood fragments produced during cutting and milling.
How woodchip is actually used
The word is neutral and technical in general use. It is commonly countable when referring to individual fragments, but it may also be used collectively in forestry, landscaping, manufacturing, and energy contexts.
Easily confused with woodchip
A chip may be a fragment of any material or a thin slice of potato, whereas a woodchip is specifically a fragment of wood.