veneer
Americannoun
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veneers
plural
-
a thin layer of wood or other material for facing or inlaying wood.
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any of the thin layers of wood glued together to form plywood.
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Building Trades. a facing of a certain material applied to a different one or to a type of construction not ordinarily associated with it, as a facing of brick applied to a frame house.
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a superficially valuable or pleasing appearance.
a cruel person with a veneer of kindliness.
verb (used with object)
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veneers,
present (3rd person singular)
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veneered,
past participle, past
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veneering
present participle
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to overlay or face (wood) with thin sheets of some material, as a fine wood, ivory, or tortoise shell.
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to face or cover (an object) with any material that is more desirable as a surface material than the basic material of the object; revet.
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to cement (layers of wood veneer) to form plywood.
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to give a superficially valuable or pleasing appearance to.
noun
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a thin layer of wood, plastic, etc, with a decorative or fine finish that is bonded to the surface of a less expensive material, usually wood
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a superficial appearance, esp one that is pleasing
a veneer of gentility
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any facing material that is applied to a different backing material
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any one of the layers of wood that is used to form plywood
verb
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to cover (a surface) with a veneer
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to bond together (thin layers of wood) to make plywood
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to conceal (something) under a superficially pleasant surface
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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veneersimple
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veneerssimple
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have veneeredperfect
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has veneeredperfect
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am veneeringprogressive
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are veneeringprogressive
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is veneeringprogressive
-
have been veneeringperfect progressive
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has been veneeringperfect progressive
Past
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veneeredsimple
-
had veneeredperfect
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was veneeringprogressive
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were veneeringprogressive
-
had been veneeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of veneer
First recorded in 1695–1705; earlier fineering, faneering, from German Fourni(e)rung, Furni(e)rung (from furni(e)ren “to furnish,” from French fournir; cf. furnish) + -ung -ing 1
Explanation
You know how some furniture looks like solid oak or maple until it gets chipped and reveals itself to be nothing more than some cheap particle-board covered with a thin layer of fancy wood? That thin layer is called a veneer. A veneer can be anything that makes something look more elegant or attractive than it is. Originally it was a furniture word, but over time its meaning expanded. If someone smiles at you while making some passive-aggressive remark, like, "Gee, you actually look really nice today," you could say that her inner meanness is showing through her veneer of sweetness.
Vocabulary lists containing veneer
100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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"How It Feels to Be Colored Me"
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The Son of Neptune
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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:
Jolie’s work is bold, and almost imperceptibly so, quietly channeling a part of herself that is entirely removed from the veneer of fame and celebrity.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
They didn’t do that because they wanted to have the trappings and the veneer of making it look as if it were a real federal case.
From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026
While Metcalf’s Linda adopts a facade of stoicism to shield her family from the grief erupting in her, Abbott’s Biff is forced to reveal the broken man behind the defiant veneer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
Chinese white-birch plywood sandwiches sheets of white poplar wood between outer layers of birch veneer, which is peeled from logs that are typically harvested in Siberian forests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
At least they’re covered by a veneer of civility.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
“To be able to throw at SoFi is crazy,” Koy said with a sparkling grin of bright white veneers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026
The material can also be used on exposed dentine, creating an enamel-like coating that helps reduce tooth sensitivity and improves how restorations, such as fillings or veneers, bond to the tooth surface.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2025
She decided to travel to Antalya in April 2024 to get four dental implants after previously having veneers fitted in the country.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025
All teeth yellow with time, and no amount of brushing and mouthwash can fix that—you’d have to have veneers or get bleach treatments, common choices for many Americans, particularly those in the public eye.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2025
The front of thin veneers was cut out to make a pretty pattern and there was old-rose silk behind this fretted wood design.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
These rooms may lack the opulence of the Southwest Chief’s predecessor, the “Super Chief” – whose lavish veneered interiors charmed LA-bound Hollywood stars in the 1940s – but they are quiet and comfortable.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 29, 2020
It was the first house I had ever been in that did not have wardrobes, no three-piece set of veneered chipboard, that leaned precariously as the glue loosened in the dowels.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 6, 2020
Made of solid and veneered ash with no screws or nails, it comes in a light-toned natural finish and the black-stained version pictured here.
From New York Times ● Sep. 13, 2019
Many are betting it's the businessman in the race, even if he's a brash real estate mogul from New York whose chief previous contact with lumber was the veneered reception desks in his swank hotels.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2016
The trail was cobbled with rocks and threaded with wandering tree roots against which we constantly stubbed and stumbled, and veneered everywhere with polished ice under a thin layer of powdery snow.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
A renovation in 2000 had tried to make the still-open parts of the site more traditionally Moroccan, veneering the concrete with green tile and carved wooden panels.
From New York Times ● Oct. 1, 2019
Saco and his team of highly skilled artisans perform a wide range of museum-quality work, from the simplest cosmetic touch-ups and refinishing to caning, inlay, veneering, upholstery and recreation of missing parts.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 22, 2015
We have one man in veneering and we used to have three.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2012
At first a supporter of Woodrow Wilson, he grew scornful of the President's caution, eventually warned his readers: "Beneath the veneering of scholarly polish lies the coiled serpent of unscrupulous ambition."
From Time Magazine Archive
Common Uses: Building construction, cabinet-work, veneering, street pavement, barrel staves and heads.
From Wood and Forest by William Noyes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
