timberline

[ tim-ber-lahyn ]

/ ˈtɪm bərˌlaɪn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR timberline ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the altitude above sea level at which timber ceases to grow.

the arctic or antarctic limit of tree growth.

Nearby words

Origin of timberline

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; timber + line¹

Also called tree line, tree·line [tree-lahyn] /ˈtriˌlaɪn/.

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

Examples from the Web for timberline

Old Timberline started down into a caon as though to descend a gully diagonally to the bottom.
The Grizzly|Enos A. Mills
Beech trees appear at all elevations between 3,000 feet and the timberline.
Area Handbook for Albania|Eugene K. Keefe
Timberline; terrific glacial work; high perpendicular precipices.
Rocky Mountain [Colorado] National Park|United States Dept. of the Interior
Already weak, they did not get down to timberline the first day.
Watched by Wild Animals|Enos A. Mills

The territory dominated by old “Timberline” had an area of about eighty square miles.
The Grizzly|Enos A. Mills

British Dictionary definitions for timberline

timberline

/ (ˈtɪmbəˌlaɪn) /

noun

the altitudinal or latitudinal limit of normal tree growthSee also tree line

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

Word Origin and History for timberline

timberline

1867, from timber + line (n.).

Science definitions for timberline

timberline

[ tĭm′bər-līn′ ]

A geographic boundary beyond which trees cannot grow. On the Earth as a whole, the timberline is the northernmost or southernmost latitude at which trees can survive; in a mountainous region, it is the highest elevation at which trees can survive. Also called tree line