hardwood

[ hahrd-wood ]

noun

1. the hard, hard, compact wood or timber of various trees, as the oak, cherry, maple, or mahogany.
2. a tree yielding such wood.

adjective

1. made or constructed of hardwood:

   a hardwood floor.

hardwood

/ ˈhɑːdˌwʊd /

noun

1. the wood of any of numerous broad-leaved dicotyledonous trees, such as oak, beech, ash, etc, as distinguished from the wood of a conifer
2. any tree from which this wood is obtained

hardwood

/ härd′wd′ /

1. A eudicot or magnoliid tree, especially as distinguished from a coniferous, or softwood, tree.
2. The wood of a eudicot or magnoliid tree. Hardwoods are in general harder than softwood. However, some hardwoods, such as basswood, are comparatively soft, while some softwoods, such as yew, are comparatively hard.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardwood¹

First recorded in 1560–70; hard + wood ¹

Example Sentences

Always turn it off before running it over hardwood floors to avoid scratching.

From Popular-Science

If the area under your sink is a hodgepodge of spray bottles and solvents meant to clean your hardwood floors, carpets, appliances, and upholstery, it may be time to downsize by upgrading.

From Popular-Science

The property bordered a small hardwood forest, which, as luck would have it, was strewn with precut rounds of timber.

From Outside Online

I shuffle past evergreens laden with snow and hardwoods glazed in hoar frost.

From Washington Post

They planted stands of fire-resistant hardwood species that stood like sentinels, blocking waves of flame.

From MIT Technology Review

The Varsity Chiefs are awesome, and the engine for this devastating hardwood machine is point guard Buell Robinson.

From The Daily Beast

They sat stock-still on the hardwood benches of the dank, makeshift cinema in Monrovia.

From The Daily Beast

Watch as the commander-in-chief hits the hardwood in a 3-on-3 tournament with a group of local high school students.

From The Daily Beast

That said, it is a chic alternative to hardwood floors and baby blues.

From The Daily Beast

The land contained a rare hardwood forest that had been targeted for logging.

From The Daily Beast

Hardwood trees shed their leaves annually, and they are called deciduous trees.

From Project Gutenberg

A gentle breath from heaven makes the basket decline a little and the ropes creak against the hardwood clinch blocks.

From Project Gutenberg

All hardwood finish, teak rail, well found, and just the ticket for the island trade.

From Project Gutenberg

They crossed swamps and wormed through alder swales, coming out again on pine and hardwood ridges.

From Project Gutenberg

Wax your hardwood floors and keep them shining like mirrors; if rugs are scarce they will be a good apology.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• forest
• sapling
• seedling
• shrub
• timber
• wood