Percentage points added to the reference rate to compute the variable rate on the debt instrument.

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Identification of the lender and information about a contractual promise to repay a short-term or long-term obligation, which includes borrowings under lines of credit, notes payable, commercial paper, bonds payable, debentures, and other contractual obligations for payment. This may include rationale for entering into the arrangement, significant terms of the arrangement, which may include amount, repayment terms, priority, collateral required, debt covenants, borrowing capacity, call features, participation rights, conversion provisions, sinking-fund requirements, voting rights, basis for conversion if convertible and remarketing provisions. The description may be provided for individual debt instruments, rational groupings of debt instruments, or by debt in total.

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The reference rate for the variable rate of the debt instrument, such as LIBOR or the US Treasury rate and the maturity of the reference rate used, such as three months or six months LIBOR.

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- Definition

Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

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- Definition

Effective interest rate for the funds borrowed under the debt agreement considering interest compounding and original issue discount or premium.

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Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

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- Definition

Date the debt instrument was issued, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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No definition available.

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Date when the debt instrument is scheduled to be fully repaid, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

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- Definition

Amount, after accumulated amortization, of debt issuance costs related to line of credit arrangements. Includes, but is not limited to, legal, accounting, underwriting, printing, and registration costs.

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Amount, after accumulated amortization, of debt issuance costs. Includes, but is not limited to, legal, accounting, underwriting, printing, and registration costs.

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- Definition

Fair value of the amount outstanding under the credit facility.

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- Definition

The cash outflow to repay long-term debt that is not secured by collateral. Excludes repayments of tax exempt unsecured debt.

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Reflects the total carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of debt having initial terms less than one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Credit Facilities, Short-term Borrowings and Long-term Debt (Narrative) (Details)			6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 03, 2019 USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	May 31, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 23, 2016 EUR (€)	Oct. 01, 2013 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Balance of unamortized debt issuance costs			$ 2,674,000	$ 2,895,000
Short-term borrowings			$ 160,000,000	153,635,000
Minimum [Member] \| LIBOR [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate			0.85%
Maximum [Member] \| LIBOR [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate			1.65%
The Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Balance of unamortized debt issuance costs			$ 2,674,000	2,895,000
2013 Note Purchase Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount								$ 250,000,000
Series J Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Effective interest rate			3.93%
Series D Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Payments of debt		$ 100,000,000
Series F Notes [Member] \| Subsequent Event [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Payments of debt	$ 43,000,000
2016 Note Purchase Agreements [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Issuance date			Sep. 23, 2016
Face amount \| €							€ 160,000,000
Series M Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount \| €							40,000,000
Series N Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount \| €							77,000,000
Series O Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount \| €							€ 43,000,000
2018 Note Purchase Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount						$ 400,000,000
Series P Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount				$ 85,000,000		85,000,000
Series Q Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount						85,000,000
Series R Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount						75,000,000
Series S Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount						75,000,000
Series T Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount						$ 80,000,000
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series J Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maturity date			Nov. 15, 2020	Nov. 15, 2020
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series J Notes [Member] \| LIBOR [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate			1.25%	1.25%
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series D Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			6.39%	6.39%
Maturity date			Oct. 01, 2018	Oct. 01, 2018
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series F Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			8.24%	8.24%
Maturity date			Apr. 03, 2019	Apr. 03, 2019
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series M Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			1.12%	1.12%
Maturity date			Sep. 23, 2026	Sep. 23, 2026
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series N Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			1.31%	1.31%
Maturity date			Sep. 23, 2028	Sep. 23, 2028
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series O Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			1.57%	1.57%
Maturity date			Sep. 23, 2031	Sep. 23, 2031
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series P Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			4.27%
Maturity date			May 30, 2025
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series Q Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			4.35%
Maturity date			May 30, 2027
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series R Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			4.41%
Maturity date			May 30, 2029
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series S Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			4.46%
Maturity date			May 30, 2030
Notes Payable to Banks [Member] \| Series T Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate			4.61%
Maturity date			May 30, 2033
Other Foreign Short-term Borrowings [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short-term borrowings				$ 3,635,000
Foreign Lines of Credit And Overdraft Facilities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Short-term borrowings			$ 0		$ 0
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Effective interest rate			3.52%	3.48%
Outstanding borrowings			$ 290,646,000	$ 266,541,000
Short-term borrowings			$ 160,000,000
Debt Instrument, Description			Woodward maintains a $1,000,000 revolving credit facility established under a revolving credit agreement among Woodward, a syndicate of lenders and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as administrative agent (the "Revolving Credit Agreement"). The Revolving Credit Agreement provides for the option to increase available borrowings up to $1,200,000, subject to lenders' participation. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Agreement can be made by Woodward and certain of its foreign subsidiaries in U.S. dollars or in foreign currencies other than the U.S. dollar and generally bear interest at LIBOR plus 0.85% to 1.65%.
Revolving Credit Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Variable rate basis			LIBOR
Balance of unamortized debt issuance costs, line of credit			$ 947,000	1,385,000
Short-term borrowings				$ 150,000,000
Cross Currency Interest Rate Swaps [Member] \| Series P Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Effective interest rate			1.82%
Cross Currency Interest Rate Swaps [Member] \| Series Q Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Effective interest rate			2.15%
Cross Currency Interest Rate Swaps [Member] \| Series R Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Effective interest rate			2.42%
Cross Currency Interest Rate Swaps [Member] \| Series S Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Effective interest rate			2.55%
Cross Currency Interest Rate Swaps [Member] \| Series T Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Effective interest rate			2.90%