lumber

1 of 3

verb (1)

lum·​ber ˈləm-bər How to pronounce lumber (audio)
lumbered; lumbering ˈləm-b(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce lumber (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to move ponderously
an elephant lumbering along the road
The economy continues to lumber along.
2
: rumble
lumbering machines

lumber

2 of 3

noun

1
: surplus or disused articles (such as furniture) that are stored away
2
a
: timber or logs especially when dressed for use
b
: any of various structural materials prepared in a form similar to lumber
lumber adjective

lumber

3 of 3

verb (2)

lumbered; lumbering ˈləm-b(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce lumber (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to clutter with or as if with lumber : encumber
plan to lumber the tiny town with a giant ski resortMarilyn Stasio
2
: to heap together in disorder
3
: to log and saw the timber of

intransitive verb

1
: to cut logs for lumber
2
: to saw logs into lumber for the market
lumberer noun

Examples of lumber in a Sentence

Noun He works for a lumber company. had a clearout of all his old lumber and finally got rid of it
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
One year later, only some of those rules have been finalized or implemented, a reflection of the typically slow, lumbering nature of the federal rulemaking process and the inability of a divided, hyperpartisan Congress to tackle even the most basic tasks. Tony Romm, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 Neither the conductor nor the orchestra of the lumbering performance was credited. Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024 The most efficient and cost effective way to cut CO2 levels is through rainforest preservation — and preventing the loss of trees due to agriculture and lumbering, which lessens the probability of droughts and wildfires. Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 Icon of the Seas is neither hellacious, horrendous, impersonal, monstrous nor lumbering. David Dickstein, Orange County Register, 2 Feb. 2024 His policy of landing ambitious targets, which brought the likes of Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto'o during his first presidency, failed to deliver and too often lumbered Xavi with aging or expensive players. Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2024 The closest bus stop is at an intersection flooded by trucks and vans lumbering onto Interstate 880, while the park itself has no available parking. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 8 Feb. 2024 The Monster is the precursor to slasher villains like Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees who lumber along on their killing sprees, though this blueprint is far more sympathetic. Steven Thrash, EW.com, 19 Oct. 2023 Even in their basic form, without projections of any kind, the boxes are like oversize characters come to life, moving around, lumbering from one side of the stage to the next, manipulated by unseen humans behind them. Ellise Pierce, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Jan. 2024
Noun
Housing was rapidly built, sometimes using lumber scrapped from Naval Quonset huts. John Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2024 One tenant was keeping propane tanks, others were storing vehicles and several more had improperly stored lumber or wooden pallets, inspectors found. Christopher Weber, Quartz, 7 Feb. 2024 These laborers likely conducted the initial tree-clearing and grading of the island, in addition to cutting lumber and making bricks for construction projects. Sue Eisenfeld, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024 Taraneh has done it three different times, using pine construction lumber. Hannah Holland, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2024 O’Neill’s goal is to grow the company and stockpile enough lumber to produce flooring in addition to paneling. Jill Draper, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2024 But when logs came out of the mill, the lumber was of poor quality, and many plantations were abandoned. Alix Soliman, Hartford Courant, 3 Jan. 2024 It’s needed for the high speeds necessary when visiting the local nursery; hauling lumber and groceries or transporting youth sports teams. James Raia, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024 Because the company had decided to stop building stores and was instead concentrating on investing in technology to improve hybrid retailing whereby the orders are placed online on the website and the customer picks up the lumber or home building material from the store. Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lumber.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English lomeren

Noun

perhaps from Lombard; from the use of pawnshops as storehouses of disused property

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1642, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of lumber was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near lumber

Cite this Entry

“Lumber.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lumber. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

lumber

1 of 3 verb
lum·​ber ˈləm-bər How to pronounce lumber (audio)
lumbered; lumbering -b(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce lumber (audio)
: to move heavily or clumsily
lumberingly adverb

lumber

2 of 3 noun
1
: extra or unused household articles (as furniture) that are stored away
2
: timber or logs especially when sawed and trimmed for use

lumber

3 of 3 verb
lumbered; lumbering
-b(ə-)riŋ
1
2
a
: to cut logs
b
: to saw logs into lumber
lumberer noun
Etymology

Verb

Middle English lomeren "to move heavily or clumsily"

Noun

perhaps derived from the name Lombard, originally associated with bankers and pawnbrokers, and so called from the use of pawnshops for storing unwanted or excess property

More from Merriam-Webster on lumber

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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