reed
part of speech
noun (a reed, reeds)
meaning for a pupil
1) A reed is a tall, thin, grass-like plant with a hollow stem that grows in or near water. tree →
2) A reed is a thin strip in some musical instruments, like the clarinet or oboe, that shakes to make the sound. tree →
3) (literary) A reed is a thin, weak person or thing, as in «a slender reed». tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons reeds grow in ponds, marshes and riverbanks and give homes to birds and insects. In music they are part of woodwind instruments. In stories, characters hide among the reeds. Phrases: «reed bed», «reed warbler», «reed instrument».
examples
- Ducks were hiding among the reeds. tree →
- The pond was edged with tall reeds. tree →
- The clarinet needs a new reed. tree →
- Reed warblers build nests on the reed stems. tree →
- In old times people made roofs from reeds. tree →
- The wind whistled through the reeds. tree →
- Long ago people used reeds as pens. tree →
- Be careful near the reeds: the water may be deep. tree →
note
Homophone: «read» (present tense, said the same: /riːd/) — «I read a book about reeds». Countable: a reed, reeds. A reed bed is a big patch of reeds. Reeds are not the same as bulrushes, though they grow in the same places.
In the corpora
- The saxophone is made of brass but is a woodwind, because it makes its sound with a reed, like a clarinet.
- Wetlands soak up flood water like giant sponges and let it out slowly, and reed roots trap mud and clean the water.
- Pan-pipes are a row of reed pipes of different lengths tied together and blown across the top.
- Drowsy in the boat, the Mole says the wind in the reeds is «like music—far away music».
- Scribes pressed a cut reed into wet clay, making wedge-shaped marks called cuneiform.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «reed» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.