kerf

American  

[kurf] / kɜrf /

noun

1. a cut or incision made by a saw or the like in a piece of wood.

2. Mining. a deep cut a few inches high, used to undermine a portion of a coal or mineral seam.

3. the act of cutting or carving.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make a kerf or kerfs in (a piece of wood, a coal seam, etc.).

kerf British  

/ kɜːf /

noun

1. the cut made by a saw, an axe, etc

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Etymology

Origin of kerf

before 1000; Middle English kerf, kirf, Old English cyrf a cutting (cognate with Old Frisian kerf ); akin to carve

Explanation

When you use a saw on a piece of wood, the kerf is the width of the cut you make. Blades for power saws are often sold by kerf width too. For woodworkers, kerf is a very important measurement, allowing them to precisely line up the parts of a wooden cabinet or table. If the kerf is wider than expected, which can happen because of a wide blade, a wobbly saw, or a particular set of the blade's sharp teeth, a wood project won't come out right. Wider kerfs are also seen as wasteful, turning perfectly good wood into sawdust. Kerf derives from the Old English cyrf, "a cutting."

Example Sentences

Don’t forget the all-important drip kerf under the crown overhang!

From Seattle Times • Jan. 16, 2023

We learn the word for the space that the saw eats up in the wood — kerf — and how to operate circular saws, routers, drills and drivers.

From Washington Post • Sep. 28, 2022

Crowns are supposed to overhang the chimney and have a drip kerf on the underside of the overhang.

From Washington Post • Jan. 8, 2019

Michel and his sextant navigated a course straight as the kerf from a sawmill blade.

From Time Magazine Archive

I see new words that sound cool like dado and kerf and tenon and mortise.

From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine

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