Retirement Benefits (Narrative) (Details) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Sep. 30, 2022 USD ($) yr shares	Sep. 30, 2021 USD ($) shares	Sep. 30, 2020 USD ($) shares
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of annual contribution equal to eligible prior year wages	5.00%
Number of years of service	2 years
Common shares issued from treasury stock for benefit plans		$ 17,132	$ 14,900	$ 14,748
Shares of woodward stock held in woodward retirement savings plan | shares		2,553	2,760
Accrued liabilities		$ 14,769	$ 11,588
Treasury Stock at Cost [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Common shares issued from treasury stock for benefit plans		$ 6,567	$ 5,358	$ 5,328
Common shares issued from treasury stock for benefit plans, shares | shares		150	128	124
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Current portion of pension obligation		$ 976	$ 1,017
Net periodic retirement (benefit) cost		(683)	(3,191)	$ (346)
Projected benefit obligation		197,921	299,364	307,623
Fair value of plan assets		202,060	291,107	266,709
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | Cash and Cash Equivalents
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair value of plan assets		2,732	3,832
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | Pooled funds: Index linked U.K. government securities fund [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair value of plan assets		3,701	6,047
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | Pooled funds: Index linked U.K. long-term government securities fund [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Fair value of plan assets		4,645	8,716
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | United States [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Net periodic retirement (benefit) cost		$ (2,778)	(5,948)	(2,731)
Discount rate support/source data		In the United States, Woodward uses a bond portfolio matching analysis based on recently traded, non-callable bonds rated AA or better that have at least $50 million outstanding to determine the benefit obligations at year end
Convergence period		5 years
Long term rate		0.75
Projected benefit obligation		$ 132,444	177,346	184,077
Fair value of plan assets		154,481	221,263	201,555
Accumulated benefit obligation		132,444
Estimated future employer contributions in the next fiscal year		0
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | Foreign Plan
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Current portion of pension obligation		976	1,017
Net periodic retirement (benefit) cost		$ 2,095	2,757	2,385
Discount rate support/source data		In the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, Woodward uses a high-quality corporate bond yield curve matched with separate cash flows to develop a single rate to determine the single rate equivalent to settle the entire benefit obligations in each jurisdiction. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the discount rate used to determine periodic service cost and interest cost components of the overall benefit costs was based on spot rates derived from the same high-quality corporate bond yield curve used to determine the September 30, 2021 and 2020 benefit obligation, respectively, matched with separate cash flows for each future year
Projected benefit obligation		$ 65,477	122,018	123,546
Fair value of plan assets		47,579	69,844	65,154
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | United Kingdom
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Projected benefit obligation		30,788
Fair value of plan assets		39,096
Accumulated benefit obligation		30,342
Estimated future employer contributions in the next fiscal year		1,044
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | Japan
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Projected benefit obligation		6,976
Fair value of plan assets		8,483
Accumulated benefit obligation		6,432
Estimated future employer contributions in the next fiscal year		134
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | Germany [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Projected benefit obligation		27,713
Fair value of plan assets		0
Accumulated benefit obligation		27,707
Estimated future employer contributions in the next fiscal year		$ 990
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | Japan And United Kingdom [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Annual improvement rate		1.5
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Current portion of pension obligation		$ 1,803	1,808
Net periodic retirement (benefit) cost		484	631	$ 834
Accumulated benefit obligation		$ 16,797	21,544
Option to elect company provided medical insurance coverage up to this age and a Medicare supplemental plan after this age | yr		65
Age employees were eligible to participate in plan | yr		55
Defined benefit plan, minimum years of service required for employees to be eligible for benefits		10 years
Approximate number of retired employees and their covered dependents and beneficiaries currently providing postretirement benefits		7
Approximate number of active employees and their covered dependants and beneficiaries who may receive postretirement benefits in the future		401
As a result of a plan amendment, all postretirement medical benefits are fully insured for retirees who have attained this age		65
Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Member] | United States [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Discount rate support/source data		Woodward used a bond portfolio matching analysis based on recently traded, non-callable bonds rated AA or better that have at least $50 million outstanding to determine the benefit obligations at year end
Convergence period		5 years
Long term rate		0.75
Woodward Retirement Savings Plan [Member] | United States [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Accumulated benefit obligation			177,346
Woodward Retirement Savings Plan [Member] | United Kingdom
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Accumulated benefit obligation			60,690
Woodward Retirement Savings Plan [Member] | Japan
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Accumulated benefit obligation			8,958
Woodward Retirement Savings Plan [Member] | Germany [Member]
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Accumulated benefit obligation			$ 50,402