the straight stalk of any of various tall grasses, especially of the genera Phragmites and Arundo, growing in marshy places.
any of the plants themselves.
such stalks or plants collectively.
anything made from such a stalk or from something similar, as an arrow.
Music.
a pastoral or rustic musical pipe made from a reed or from the hollow stalk of some other plant.
a small, flexible piece of cane or metal that, attached to the mouth of any of various wind instruments, is set into vibration by a stream of air and, in turn, sets into vibration the air column enclosed in the tube of the instrument.
reed instrument.
Textiles. the series of parallel strips of wires in a loom that force the weft up to the web and separate the threads of the warp.
an ancient unit of length, equal to 6 cubits. Ezekiel 40:5.
verb (used with object)
to decorate with reed.
to thatch with or as if with reed.
to make vertical grooves on (the edge of a coin, medal, etc.).
Idioms for reed
a broken reed, a person or thing too frail or weak to be relied on for support: Under stress he showed himself to be a broken reed.
Origin of reed
First recorded before 900; Middle English reed, red, reod; Old English hrēod, hrēad; cognate with German Ried, Dutch riet
Prosecutors said that Reed was arrested in Massachusetts on Thursday, while Hayes, Dwyer, and Delo remain at large.
Giant cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX hit with criminal and civil money laundering charges|dzanemorris|October 1, 2020|Fortune
In an email, Reed said he was planning to leave the organization at the end of the year anyway.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce abruptly ousts top political consultant Scott Reed, alleging leaks|Tom Hamburger|September 29, 2020|Washington Post
Reed said it doesn’t make sense that Elmcroft of La Mesa – which markets “exceptional memory care” on its website – qualifies as non-medical.
COVID-19 Exposes Lack of Medical Staff in Assisted Living Facilities|Jared Whitlock|September 28, 2020|Voice of San Diego
In the century before Ginsburg won the Reed case, the Supreme Court never met a gender classification that it didn’t like.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Helped Shape The Modern Era Of Women’s Rights – Even Before She Went On The Supreme Court|LGBTQ-Editor|September 21, 2020|No Straight News
Give us a little bit of the Reed story before you became Reed Hastings, Netflix.
What if Your Company Had No Rules? (Bonus Episode)|Maria Konnikova|September 12, 2020|Freakonomics
“We quietly did,” Reed previously told The Daily Beast of removing ISIS.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Both wear head scarves as part of their religion,” Reed later wrote in his report.
How ISIS’s Colorado Girls Were Caught|Michael Daly|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“There was a sense the response had been inadequate and slow,” Reed says.
“We help whitewash monasteries, rebuild structures, and teach English and math in classrooms,” Reed says.
Can Traditional Bhutan Survive Tourism?|Esha Chhabra|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Reed moved to Bhutan when Thimphu was a quaint town of 30,000.
Can Traditional Bhutan Survive Tourism?|Esha Chhabra|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Hang it all, there's a blowout," growled Reed, bringing the car to a stop.
The Golden Boys and Their New Electric Cell|L. P. Wyman
But before she could gather way she was thrown down by the wind like a reed.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 1995, Memorial Issue|Various
If Reed could have come up now and seen what it is I want done, he might have begun upon it to-morrow evening.
Johnny Ludlow, Third Series|Mrs. Henry Wood
She was in pearl gray, no powder, no mustache, slim as a reed.
Jane Journeys On|Ruth Comfort Mitchell
The anxiety of Washington in this critical state of the army, may be judged from his correspondence with Reed.
The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving|Washington Irving
British Dictionary definitions for reed (1 of 2)
reed
/ (riːd) /
noun
any of various widely distributed tall grasses of the genus Phragmites, esp P. communis, that grow in swamps and shallow water and have jointed hollow stalks
the stalk, or stalks collectively, of any of these plants, esp as used for thatching
music
a thin piece of cane or metal inserted into the tubes of certain wind instruments, which sets in vibration the air column inside the tube
a wind instrument or organ pipe that sounds by means of a reed
one of the several vertical parallel wires on a loom that may be moved upwards to separate the warp threads
a small semicircular architectural mouldingSee also reeding
an ancient Hebrew unit of length equal to six cubits
an archaic word for arrow
broken reeda weak, unreliable, or ineffectual person
verb(tr)
to fashion into or supply with reeds or reeding
to thatch using reeds
Word Origin for reed
Old English hreod; related to Old Saxon hriod, Old High German hriot
British Dictionary definitions for reed (2 of 2)
Reed
/ (riːd) /
noun
Sir Carol . 1906–76, English film director. His films include The Third Man (1949), An Outcast of the Islands (1951), and Oliver! (1968), for which he won an Oscar
Lou . born 1942, US rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist: member of the Velvet Underground (1965–70). His albums include Transformer (1972), Berlin (1973), Street Hassle (1978), New York (1989), Set the Twilight Reeling (1996), and The Raven (2003)
Walter . 1851–1902, US physician, who proved that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes (1900)
A thin piece of wood or plastic used in many woodwind instruments. It vibrates when the player holds it in the mouth and blows over it (as with a single reed) or through it (as with a double reed). Clarinets and saxophones use a single reed; bassoons and oboes use a double reed.
American physician and army surgeon who proved in 1900 that yellow fever was transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. His research led to the mosquito eradication programs carried out by William Gorgas that virtually eradicated yellow fever from Havana, Cuba, and from the Panama Canal Zone.