balsa

noun

bal·​sa ˈbȯl-sə 

1

: a small raft or boat

specifically : one made of tightly bundled reeds and used on Lake Titicaca

2

: a tropical American tree (Ochroma pyramidale) of the silk-cotton family with extremely light strong wood used especially for floats

also : its wood

Examples of balsa in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Each became part of the political and historical phenomenon termed the balsero crisis, so named for the balsas, or makeshift rafts, that carried the refugees out into the Florida Straits. —Miriam Pensack, The Dial, 30 Sep. 2025

That includes his last film, the Daisy Ridley-starrer The Young Woman and the Sea, as well as Kon-Tiki, the journey of explorer Thor Heyerdahl who crossed the Pacific on a raft made of balsa wood, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. —Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025

Heyerdahl built this replica of the aboriginal balsa raft to test his theories that the ancient Peruvians reached Polynesia with this transport. —Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025

The explorer built the balsa wood raft to show that people could have made the trip in prehistory. —Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 7 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish

First Known Use

circa 1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for balsa

• khalsa
• salsa

Kids Definition

balsa

noun

bal·​sa ˈbȯl-sə 

1

: raft entry 1

especially : one made of two cylinders of metal or wood joined by a frame

2

: a tropical American tree with extremely light strong wood used especially for floats

also : its wood