View synonyms for balsa

balsa

[ bawl-suh, bahl- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a tropical American tree, Ochroma pyramidale ( lagopus ), of the bombax family, yielding an exceedingly light wood used for life preservers, rafts, toy airplanes, etc.
a raft made of balsa wood.
any life raft.

balsa

/ ˈbɔːlsə /

a bombacaceous tree, Ochroma lagopus , of tropical America
Also calledbalsawood the very light wood of this tree, used for making rafts, etc
a light raft

Origin of balsa¹

1770–80; < Spanish: boat

Origin of balsa¹

C18: from Spanish: raft

Their fix was to run lightweight balsa wood cores from tip to tail for the weight savings, and then back that up with two sheets of titanium alloy.

A super fast-growing balsa tree, in contrast, won’t live past 40.

Well,” Vidal replied, “if you count balsa as one of the woods.

"But I do believe the 10th anniversary is the balsa-wood anniversary," retorts Tolan.

He made a landing on a sand-spit that struck off from an outward curve of the bank, and dragged the balsa out of the water.

In a few minutes the balsa lodged against the shore in the still water of a little cove.

At this time also, the master of the small bark came off in a balsa.

The first time was when, during my passage of the lake on a balsa, one of my companions had the misfortune to fall into the water.

On this coast we again meet with wooden canoes, although the balsa, or tule raft, is also in use.

April 22, 2024steadfast

[sted-fast]

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