cordwood

American  

[kawrd-wood] / ˈkɔrdˌwʊd /

noun

1. wood stacked in cords for use as fuel.

2. logs cut to a length of 4 feet (1.2 meters) to facilitate stacking in cords.

3. trees intended for timber but of a quality suitable only for fuel.

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cordwood British  

/ ˈkɔːdˌwʊd /

noun

1. wood that has been cut into lengths of four feet so that it can be stacked in cords

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Etymology

Origin of cordwood

First recorded in 1630–40; cord + wood ¹

Example Sentences

After loggers felled the large trees, smaller ones became fuel for locomotives, and the eastern slopes of the Sierra are so dry that there are still stacks of cordwood left over from the eighteen-eighties.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 19, 2019

I saw the entire rear section of the plane filled with skinned, frozen—but now thawing—whole caribou, piled up like cordwood.

From Slate • Jul. 31, 2015

The goats and heroes stacked up like cordwood after the Nationals had defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 11-10, in a zany conclusion to a series the Nationals took three games to one.

From Washington Post • Jul. 29, 2012

A heap of bacon stacked like cordwood attests to the popularity of those excellent rashers: rigid, smoky and peppery.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 27, 2012

‘We are fighting, partly, for just that. Because a man is a private is no reason he should be treated like cordwood.’

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes