lumber

¹

[luhm-ber]

noun

1. timber sawed or split into planks, boards, etc.

2. miscellaneous useless articles that are stored away.

verb (used without object)

1. to cut timber and prepare it for market.

2. to become useless or to be stored away as useless.

verb (used with object)

1. to convert (a specified amount, area, etc.) into lumber.

   We lumbered more than a million acres last year.

2. to heap together in disorder.

3. to fill up or obstruct with miscellaneous useless articles; encumber.

lumber

²

[luhm-ber]

verb (used without object)

1. to move clumsily or heavily, especially from great or ponderous bulk.

   overloaded wagons lumbering down the dirt road.

   Synonyms: plod, barge, trudge

2. to make a rumbling noise.

lumber

¹

/ ˈlʌmbə /

noun

1. 1. logs; sawn timber

   2. cut timber, esp when sawn and dressed ready for use in joinery, carpentry, etc

   3. ( as modifier )

      the lumber trade

2. 1. useless household articles that are stored away

   2. ( as modifier )

      lumber room

verb

1. (tr) to pile together in a disorderly manner

2. (tr) to fill up or encumber with useless household articles

3. to convert (the trees) of (a forest) into marketable timber

4. informal,  (tr) to burden with something unpleasant, tedious, etc

5. (tr) to arrest; imprison

lumber

²

/ ˈlʌmbə /

verb

1. to move awkwardly

2. an obsolete word for rumble

Other Word Forms

• lumberer noun
• lumberless adjective
• lumberly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lumber¹

First recorded in 1545–55; of uncertain origin; perhaps because the cut and trimmed timber was dried and seasoned in a lumber room ( def. )

Origin of lumber²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English lomeren; compare dialectal Swedish lomra “to resound, roar,” loma “to walk heavily”

Word History and Origins

Origin of lumber¹

C17: perhaps from a noun use of _lumber ²

Origin of lumber²

C14 lomeren; perhaps related to lome _lame ¹ , Swedish dialect loma to move ponderously

Example Sentences

The question is whether there will be similar parachutes available for producers of lumber, furniture and kitchen cabinets—the latest targets for import levies.

Read more on Barron's

He struck it rich, and got into the lumber business.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Carney has faced domestic pressure to secure a deal with the US that would lower tariffs, especially for hard-hit sectors like steel and lumber.

Read more on BBC

So, Bui continued, “every year I manage to lumber my way back to London.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Climate change, he claimed to audible gasps, was "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world" and was lumbering European countries with expensive energy costs compared to fossil fuels.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• plod 
• shuffle 
• slog 
• trudge 
• trundle 
• waddle