two-by-four

[ too-bahy-fawr, -fohr, -buh- ]

adjective

1. two units thick and four units wide, especially in inches.
2. Informal. lacking adequate space; cramped:

   a small, two-by-four room.

3. Informal. unimportant; insignificant:

   Theirs was a petty, two-by-four operation.

noun

1. a timber measuring 2 × 4 inches (5 × 10 centimeters) in cross section, when untrimmed: equivalent to 1 5/8 × 3 5/8 inches (4.5 × 9 centimeters) when trimmed.

two-by-four

noun

1. a length of untrimmed timber with a cross section that measures 2 inches by 4 inches
2. a trimmed timber joist with a cross section that measures 1 1 2 inches by 3 1 2 inches

Word History and Origins

Origin of two-by-four¹

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

What about the law against the IRS smacking Tea Party-type nonprofits over the head with a two-by-four?

From The Daily Beast

"None of your pin-head two-by-four shysters that you see here in the East," exclaimed Mr. Sleighter.

From Project Gutenberg

As if in answer to his name, Bonfire appeared, red-faced and breathless, holding a short two-by-four in his hand.

From Project Gutenberg

Using the two-by-four as a fulcrum, he began levering the door upward and outward.

From Project Gutenberg

I say, Phil, should this two-by-four go in with the big side out, or the narrow?

From Project Gutenberg

It's a crime for a girl with your looks to be pounding the keys in a two-by-four canning factory in a jerk Maine town.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• girder
• joist
• piling
• pillar
• plank
• pole
• shaft
• sill
• timber