bamboo

American  

[bam-boo] / bæmˈbu /

noun

plural

bamboos

1. any of the woody or treelike tropical and semitropical grasses of the genera Bambusa, Phyllostachys, Dendrocalamus, and allied genera, having woody, usually hollow stems with stalked blades and flowering only after years of growth.

2. the stem of such a plant, used as a building material and for making furniture, poles, etc.

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bamboo British  

/ bæmˈbuː /

noun

1. any tall treelike tropical or semitropical fast-growing grass of the genus Bambusa , having hollow woody-walled stems with ringed joints and edible young shoots ( bamboo shoots )

2. the stem of any of these plants, used for building, poles, and furniture

3. any of various bamboo-like grasses of the genera Arundinaria , Phyllostachys or Dendrocalamus

4. (modifier) made of bamboo

   a bamboo fence

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Etymology

Origin of bamboo

1590–1600; spelling variant of earlier bambu < Malay, apparently < Dravidian; compare Kannada bambu, bombu a large, hollow bam-boo (or directly < Dravidian); replacing bambus < Dutch bamboes; compare New Latin bambūsa

Example Sentences

The inferno swept through seven of the estate's eight towers, which were under renovation and wrapped in bamboo scaffolding, netting and foam boards -- materials that may have accelerated the spread of flames.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

Living in the area, I drive by it a thousand times and then I remember, “Oh yeah, there’s a rainforest in here. There’s thick stands of bamboo forest that look like Vietnam.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Would it be bamboo charcoal memory foam, a C-shaped full body or a honeycomb hole?

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

First, there is an initital 113m section of sloping steel and glass followed by the eight "bamboo" boxes before reaching the final stage which includes scaling the spire at the very top of the tower.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026

Someone on the other side of the tall fence raised a bamboo stick with more ribbons attached to it, only these were wet and shimmered brighter than the ones already up.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago