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sawmill

American  
[saw-mil] / ˈsɔˌmɪl /

noun

sawmills plural
  1. a place or building in which timber is sawed into planks, boards, etc., by machinery.


sawmill British  
/ ˈsɔːˌmɪl /

noun

  1. an industrial establishment where timber is sawn into planks, etc

  2. a large sawing machine

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of sawmill

First recorded in 1545–55; saw 1 + mill 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The brainchild of sawmill business partners Franz Josef Bucher and Josef Durrer, the Grand Hotel opened in 1873.

From Barron's Jun. 16, 2026

In the beginning, Peck says it was easy to find trees and hire a mobile sawmill to cut them into planks.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 8, 2026

Prices for lumber and other sawmill products were up month-on-month, led by softwood lumber.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 20, 2025

James Jones and Sons, which is investing £70m in a new sawmill near Durham, is one of a number of companies counting on it.

From BBC Sep. 25, 2025

They found short work at a sawmill in Bear, then an afternoon pulling stumps at Crossland, finally steady work in Goshen.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

The combined real estate investment trust has a half dozen sawmills and a big plywood facility, and intends to keep the dividend in line with Rayonier’s recent payout, suggesting a yield of 5% or so.

From Barron's Feb. 27, 2026

PotlatchDeltic’s sawmills are among those that analysts expect to benefit from higher trade barriers, which should also boost U.S. timberland owners.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 14, 2025

More than a dozen sawmills have closed in Canada and Oregon, Washington and Northern California as logging operations have struggled with a shortage of skilled labor and higher costs for energy, freight and other inputs.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 16, 2025

Prisoners work in poultry plants, sawmills and in industrial factories.

From Seattle Times May 16, 2024

Aunt Maggie’s husband, Uncle Hoskins, owned a saloon that catered to the hundreds of Negroes who worked in the surrounding sawmills.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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