ironwood

[ ahy-ern-wood ]

/ ˈaɪ ərnˌwʊd /

Save This Word!

noun

any of various trees yielding a hard, heavy wood, as the American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana, or Lyonothamnus floribundus, found on the islands off the coast of S California.

the wood of any of these trees.

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of ironwood

First recorded in 1650–60; iron + wood¹

Words nearby ironwood

iron sulfate, Ironton, ironware, ironweed, ironwoman, ironwood, ironwork, ironworker, ironworks, irony, Iroquoian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use ironwood in a sentence

I never left the claim once, and I had a good-sized club of ironwood which I was ready to use on the slightest provocation.
Motor Matt's Daring, or, True to His Friends|Stanley R. Matthews
From a piece of ironwood, cut in the forest with great labour, I made a spade to dig with.
The World's Greatest Books, Vol III|Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton, Eds.
The Ironwood of India cannot be worked, as its hardness blunts every tool.
The Romance of Plant Life|G. F. Scott Elliot
For its choice it has the pick of American timber, the ironwood of our national forests of humanity.
The Modern Railroad|Edward Hungerford

The heaviest of these is the black ironwood of southern Florida, which is more than thirty per cent.
Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889|Barkham Burroughs

British Dictionary definitions for ironwood

ironwood

/ (ˈaɪənˌwʊd) /

noun

any of various betulaceous trees, such as hornbeam, that have very hard wood

a Californian rosaceous tree, Lyonothamnus floribundus, with very hard wood

any of various other trees with hard wood, such as the mopani

the wood of any of these trees

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