lumbering

American  

[luhm-ber-ing] / ˈlʌm bər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the trade or business of cutting and preparing lumber.

---

lumbering ¹ British  

/ ˈlʌmbərɪŋ /

adjective

1. awkward in movement

2. moving with a rumbling sound

---

lumbering ² British  

/ ˈlʌmbərɪŋ /

noun

1. the business or trade of cutting, transporting, preparing, or selling timber

---

Other Word Forms

• lumberingly adverb
• lumberingness noun
• unlumbering adjective

Etymology

Origin of lumbering

First recorded in 1765–75; lumber ¹ + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Costing A$136,000, the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture's designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was "massive, lumbering and fascinating".

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

Part of Melissa's punch stems from its slow pace: it is lumbering along slower than most people walk, at just three miles per hour or less.

From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025

In the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s version, a drama from Netflix that hits theaters in October, Frankenstein’s creature is no arms-outstretched “Me Hungry” monster lumbering toward the camera stiff-legged with neck bolts and a flattop.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 30, 2025

Instead, the lumbering William “Refrigerator” Perry got the handoff and scored.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2025

Outside, the British Colonies of America detached themselves with infinite lumbering care, while within our enclave I thought on nothing that day but my mother.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• hulking
• ungainly
• unwieldy