timber

[ tim-ber ]

noun

1. the wood of growing trees suitable for structural uses.
2. growing trees themselves.
3. wooded land.
4. wood, especially when suitable or adapted for various building purposes.
5. a single piece of wood forming part of a structure or the like:

   A timber fell from the roof.

6. Nautical. (in a ship's frame) one of the curved pieces of wood that spring upward and outward from the keel; rib.
7. personal character or quality:

   He's being talked up as presidential timber.

8. Sports. a wooden hurdle, as a gate or fence, over which a horse must jump in equestrian sports.

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with timber.
2. to support with timber.

verb (used without object)

1. to fell timber, especially as an occupation.

interjection

1. a lumberjack's call to warn those in the vicinity that a cut tree is about to fall to the ground.

timber

/ ˈtɪmbə /

noun

1. 1. wood, esp when regarded as a construction material Usual US and Canadian wordlumber
   2. ( as modifier )

      a timber cottage

2. 1. trees collectively
   2. woodland
3. a piece of wood used in a structure
4. nautical a frame in a wooden vessel
5. potential material, for a post, rank, etc

   he is managerial timber

verb

1. tr to provide with timbers

interjection

1. a lumberjack's shouted warning when a tree is about to fall

Other Words From

• timber·less adjective
• timber·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of timber¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English: originally, “house, building material, wood, trees”; cognate with German Zimmer “room,” Old Norse timbr “timber”; akin to Gothic timrjan “to build,” Greek démein “to build,” dómos “house,” Latin domus “house,” Slavic ( Polish ) dom, “house, home,” Sanskrit dáma- “house, building”; dome

Word History and Origins

Origin of timber¹

Old English; related to Old High German zimbar wood, Old Norse timbr timber, Latin domus house

Example Sentences

A bizarre throw-in from Arsenal's Jurrien Timber, and a goal of the season contender from Brentford's Yoane Wissa feature in this week's '2 Good, 2 Bad' from Match of the Day 2.

From BBC

But the 2025 manifesto instructs the agency to focus on thinning trees and increasing timber sale, in part by reducing “regulatory obstacles” put in place by the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.

From Los Angeles Times

The world's first wood-panelled satellite has been launched into space to test the suitability of timber as a renewable building material in future exploration of destinations like the Moon and Mars.

From BBC

In 1993, Bowker arranged a deal with a man named Rudy “Cobra King” Komarek to exchange 22 alligators for 22 timber rattlesnakes; the director of the Serpentarium had wanted the snakes’ venom for his private medical research.

From Slate

There was plenty to admire in Arsenal’s performance, delivered despite the handicap of losing key defenders Gabriel and Jurrien Timber in the second half when holding that slender lead, to go with the absence of suspended William Saliba and injured Riccardo Calafiori.

From BBC

Related Words

• forest
• hardwood
• log