deadwood
/ˈdɛdˌwʊd/
noun
- People or things that are no longer useful or productive; a burden or waste.
- The manager decided to cut the deadwood from the department to improve performance.
- Old, outdated inventory is just deadwood taking up space in the warehouse.
- The committee removed the deadwood members who never attended meetings.
- Dead branches or wood on a tree or in a forest.
- After the storm, the yard was full of deadwood that needed to be cleared.
- Campers gathered deadwood from the forest floor for their fire.
- The gardener pruned the deadwood from the apple tree to help it grow.