Timber is wood that is used for building houses and making furniture. You can also refer to trees that are grown for this purpose as timber.
These Severn Valley woods have been exploited for timber since Saxon times.
...a single-story timber building.
Synonyms: wood, logs More Synonyms of timber
2. countable noun [usually plural]
The timbers of a ship or house are the large pieces of wood that have been used to build it.
...a bird nestling in the timbers of the roof.
Synonyms: beams, boards, planks More Synonyms of timber
timber in British English
(ˈtɪmbə)
noun
1.
a.
wood, esp when regarded as a construction material
Usual US and Canadian word: lumber
b.
(as modifier)
a timber cottage
2.
a.
trees collectively
b. mainly US
woodland
3.
a piece of wood used in a structure
4. nautical
a frame in a wooden vessel
5.
potential material, for a post, rank, etc
he is managerial timber
verb
6. (transitive)
to provide with timbers
exclamation
7.
a lumberjack's shouted warning when a tree is about to fall
Word origin
Old English; related to Old High German zimbar wood, Old Norse timbr timber, Latin domus house
timber in American English
(ˈtɪmbər)
noun
1.
a.
a building
b.
building material
2.
wood suitable for building houses, ships, etc., whether cut or still in the form of trees
3.
a large, heavy, dressed piece of wood used in building; beam
4. British
lumber1 (sense 2)
5.
trees or forests collectively
6.
personal quality or character
a man of his timber
7. Shipbuilding
a wooden rib
verb transitive
8.
to provide, build, or prop up with timbers
verb intransitive
9.
to work at cutting down timber
adjective
10.
of or for timber
interjection
11.
used in a forest to signify that a cut tree is about to fall
a lumberman's warning shout
Word origin
ME < OE, akin to Ger zimmer, room (< OHG zimbar, wooden structure) < IE base *dem-, *dema-, to join together, build > L domus, house
Examples of 'timber' in a sentence
timber
It also makes specialist windows and doors, and provides timber engineering services.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There were a few timber merchants along the river he would call on in the mean time.
Tracy Chevalier Burning Bright (2007)
So they invited dozens of craftsmen and artists to make better use of the timber.
The Sun (2009)
Its boxy timber frame provides shade and a balcony.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We also had difficulty getting insurance because of its timber frame and flat roof.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The stone and timber building they now call home had stood fulfilling his desire for isolation perfectly.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The former hall with exposed timbers is now the dining room.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
They slapped houses together with cheap bricks and timber.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Yet concealed within the brick skin is an older timber building.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The wood from the harvested pine is still used by timber merchants.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
All timber used in this performance was taken from sustainable sources.
The Sun (2015)
New homes and offices are often built with lightweight timber or steel frames.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It aims to use the timber to build a dam as a love nest.
The Sun (2008)
The warm brick and timber contrast with the concrete floors and expanses of glass elsewhere.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
What if the house 's timbers have begun to rot?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
One of the conditions was that the partition walls were not allowed to be fixed to any of the original stone or timber.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Within, it is open to the roof timbers.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The design of this two-storey timber house should have been relatively straightforward.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
French doors lead to the rear garden, which has a stone terrace with timber garden shed.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The first-floor dining room with its original roof timbers is particularly impressive.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The house itself has exposed timber frames, a wooden screen and panelled doors.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The most popular of these was a stout little horse, modelled on the animals used to haul timber from the woods.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Official teak for the timber yards and bamboo for the mills was one thing, but forest sneaking to the plains for firewood was another.
Hyland, Paul Indian Balm - Travels in the Southern Subcontinent (1994)
The ships' timber structures had rotted away in the Mediterranean.
The Sun (2010)
Word lists with
timber
America
In other languages
timber
British English: timber /ˈtɪmbə/ NOUN
Timber is wood used for building houses and making furniture.
These woods have been exploited for timber for centuries.
American English: lumber
Arabic: خَشَب
Brazilian Portuguese: madeira
Chinese: 木材
Croatian: drvo
Czech: dřevo řezivo
Danish: tømmer
Dutch: timmerhout
European Spanish: madera construcción
Finnish: puutavara
French: bois
German: Bauholz
Greek: ξυλεία
Italian: legname
Japanese: 材木
Korean: 목재
Norwegian: tømmer trestammer
Polish: tarcica
European Portuguese: madeira
Romanian: lemn
Russian: строевой лес
Latin American Spanish: madera
Swedish: virke
Thai: ไม้ที่ใช้ในการก่อสร้าง
Turkish: kereste
Ukrainian: деревина
Vietnamese: gỗ xây dựng
All related terms of 'timber'
timber line
→ another name for timberline
timber mill
a sawmill producing timbers , as for building purposes
timber wolf
a variety of the wolf , Canis lupus , having a grey brindled coat and occurring in forested northern regions, esp of North America
timber yard
A timber yard is a place where timber is stored and sold.
timber-framed
framed by exposed timbers
timber hitch
a knot used for tying a rope round a spar , log , etc, for haulage
timber limit
the area to which rights of cutting timber , granted by government licence , are limited
timber merchant
a merchant that deals in wood for use as a building material
timber rattlesnake
a yellowish-brown to black rattlesnake ( Crotalus horridus ) with V -shaped bands on the back
half-timbered
Half-timbered is used to describe old buildings that have wooden beams showing in the brick and plaster walls, both on the inside and the outside of the building.
grey wolf
a variety of the wolf , Canis lupus , having a grey brindled coat and occurring in forested northern regions, esp of North America
Chinese translation of 'timber'
timber
(ˈtɪmbəʳ) (Brit)
n(u)
(= material) 木料 (mùliào)
美 = lumber
1 (noun)
Definition
a wooden beam in the frame of a house, boat, etc.
a bird nesting in the timbers of the roof
Synonyms
beams
boards
planks
2 (noun)
Definition
trees collectively
These forests have been exploited for timber since Saxon times.