sapwood

[sap-woo d]

noun Botany.

the softer part of the wood between the inner bark and the heartwood.

Nearby words

Origin of sapwood

First recorded in 1785–95; sap¹ + wood¹

Also called alburnum.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sapwood

It is true that sapwood will not resist decay as long as heartwood, if both are untreated with preservatives.
The Mechanical Properties of Wood|Samuel J. Record
Sapwood, as a rule, shrinks more than heartwood of the same weight, but very heavy heartwood may shrink more than lighter sapwood.
Seasoning of Wood|Joseph B. Wagner
The wood is heavy, not strong, heart light red, sapwood yellow.
American Forest Trees|Henry H. Gibson
It tends to fill with gums, resins, pigments and other substances, but otherwise its structure is the same as that of the sapwood.
Studies of Trees|Jacob Joshua Levison

In elm, ash, and hickory the sapwood is sometimes considered better than the heart.
Woodworking for Beginners|Charles Gardner Wheeler

British Dictionary definitions for sapwood

sapwood

noun

the soft wood, just beneath the bark in tree trunks, that consists of living tissueCompare heartwood

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

Science definitions for sapwood

sapwood

[săp′wud′]

The younger layers of new wood produced by the interior side of the vascular cambium within a tree trunk. Sapwood is active in the conduction of water and is usually lighter in color than heartwood.