timber

[ tim-ber ]
See synonyms for: timbertimbered on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the wood of growing trees suitable for structural uses.

  2. growing trees themselves.

  1. wooded land.

  2. wood, especially when suitable or adapted for various building purposes.

  3. a single piece of wood forming part of a structure or the like: A timber fell from the roof.

  4. Nautical. (in a ship's frame) one of the curved pieces of wood that spring upward and outward from the keel; rib.

  5. personal character or quality: He's being talked up as presidential timber.

  6. 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.

Origin of timber

1
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”; see dome

Other words from timber

  • tim·ber·less, adjective
  • tim·ber·y, adjective

Words that may be confused with timber

Words Nearby timber

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use timber in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for timber

timber

/ (ˈtɪmbə) /


noun
    • wood, esp when regarded as a construction material: Usual US and Canadian word: lumber

    • (as modifier): a timber cottage

    • trees collectively

    • mainly US woodland

  1. a piece of wood used in a structure

  2. nautical a frame in a wooden vessel

  3. 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

Origin of timber

1
Old English; related to Old High German zimbar wood, Old Norse timbr timber, Latin domus house

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012