white fir

American  

noun

1. a tall, narrow fir, Abies concolor, of western North America, yielding a soft wood used for lumber, pulp, boxes, etc.

2. the wood of this tree.

3. any of various similar firs of western North America, or their wood.

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Etymology

Origin of white fir

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

Infested trees can die with three to five years, while white fir withstand infestation with no apparent ill effects.

From Science Daily • May 14, 2024

Conditions favored shade-tolerant trees — white fir, red fir and incense cedar — that prefer dense, closed canopies.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2023

The official Christmas White House Tree is an 18½-foot white fir from Auburn, Pennsylvania, that features handmade renderings of the official birds from all 57 states, territories and the District of Columbia.

From Washington Times • Nov. 28, 2022

If you want to use a noble, grand or white fir for your living Christmas tree, choose one grown for use as a landscape tree.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 11, 2021

There was no answer in any of it—not in the boats lying on their sides, not in the white fir defeated by the snow or in the downed branches of the cedars.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson