lumbering

American  

[luhm-ber-ing] / ˈlʌm bər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the trade or business of cutting and preparing lumber.

---

lumbering ¹ British  

/ ˈlʌmbərɪŋ /

adjective

1. awkward in movement

2. moving with a rumbling sound

---

lumbering ² British  

/ ˈlʌmbərɪŋ /

noun

1. the business or trade of cutting, transporting, preparing, or selling timber

---

Other Word Forms

• lumberingly adverb
• lumberingness noun
• unlumbering adjective

Etymology

Origin of lumbering

First recorded in 1765–75; lumber ¹ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Part of Melissa's punch stems from its slow pace: it is lumbering along slower than most people walk, at just three miles per hour or less.

From Barron's

If Europe can’t concentrate spending, its startups will struggle to grow or shake up the continent’s lumbering military sector as U.S. startups are doing in Washington, say investors and founders.

From The Wall Street Journal

Climate change, he claimed to audible gasps, was "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world" and was lumbering European countries with expensive energy costs compared to fossil fuels.

From BBC

That summer, Fisher said, no matter what he did, the bears kept lumbering back into town.

From Los Angeles Times

And for decades, every attempt to create legal access has foundered on the rocky shoals of property rights and lumbering bureaucracy.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hulking
• ungainly
• unwieldy