planer

American  

[play-ner] / ˈpleɪ nər /

noun

• planers
  plural

1. Carpentry. a power machine for removing the rough or excess surface from a board.

2. Metalworking. a machine for cutting flat surfaces, having a cutting tool supported by an overhead frame beneath which the work slides back and forth.

3. Typesetting. a block of smooth, hard wood for leveling the type in a chase by tapping with a mallet.

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planer British  

/ ˈpleɪnə /

noun

1. a machine with a cutting tool that makes repeated horizontal strokes across the surface of a workpiece: used to cut flat surfaces into metal

2. a machine for planing wood, esp one in which the cutting blades are mounted on a rotating drum

3. printing a flat piece of wood used to level type in a chase

4. any person or thing that planes

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• planers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of planer

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at plane ², -er ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

planer planers

The pitted road surface was scalped by a 30-tonne machine planer and the debris swept out before a bitumen emulsion binder was sprayed ahead of the laying of fresh asphalt.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

At minimum, you’d need a table saw, which allows you to cut wood to width, as well as a planer and jointer, used to create smooth, even surfaces on wood.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2024

Next, remove any excess wax on the exterior with a cheese planer or knife.

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2022

In small groups of nine, students will learn to use a table saw, bandsaw, jointer, planer and drill press and will make a hardwood cutting board in the process.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2022

The first course of action, he said, was to glue the smaller boards together, after which the uneven width would be surgically altered in the planer.

From Through these Eyes The courageous struggle to find meaning in a life stressed with cancer by Lauren Ann Isaacson

The pilot, Captain Al Wallach said the successful mission reflected the specialist expertise of the team's people, which included the flight crews, meteorologists, operational planers, runway teams and medical personnel.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Lagos governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Thursday said a six-member panel of engineers, architects and town planers had been appointed to "bring closure to this event and ensure that justice is served".

From Reuters ● Nov. 4, 2021

I am able to report that the huge planers and millers need to work armor plate particularly, for the expanded naval program will be available on time.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mukden, its population now swollen to more than 3,000,000, grinds out lathes, shapers, planers, boring mills, presses, air compressors, electrical motors and transformers for all of China.

From Time Magazine Archive

It could drive lathes, drills, planers, punches, polishers, in a word all the cunning machines of a great factory?

From What Is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain

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