bamboo

noun, often attributive bam·boo \ (ˌ)bam-ˈbü , ˈbam-ˌ \

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Definition of bamboo

plural bamboos

: any of various woody or arborescent grasses (as of the genera Bambusa, Arundinaria, and Dendrocalamus of the subfamily Bambusoideae) of tropical and temperate regions having hollow stems, thick rhizomes, and shoots that are used for food; also : the jointed stem of bamboo used especially for building, furniture, and utensils

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Examples of bamboo in a Sentence

Bamboo grows in the grove near the house.
We cut down some bamboos.

Recent Examples of bamboo from the Web

Reusable straws in materials like bamboo, silicone, glass, and metal are on the rise, and many are sold with a brush to clean them in-between uses.

— alice bell, Vogue, "11 Stylish, Sustainable Straws to Help You Cut Down on Single-Use Plastic," 13 July 2018
The clips, shot by users, range from a dexterous noodle-maker in Chongqing to a shimmying peacock in a bamboo grove, all set to music.

— The Economist, "A Chinese music-video app is making WeChat sweat," 12 July 2018
Some have proposed the use of metal, glass, bamboo, or paper straws and all of these have issues for at least some people with disabilities.

— erin corbett, Fortune, "These 8 Companies Are Ditching Plastic Straws. Here’s How They Are Replacing Them," 11 July 2018
Bits of bamboo, velvet worms, and aquatic spiders also found in this amber suggest that the Cretaceous environment was a rain forest, since similar species are commonly found in wet tropical forests today.

— National Geographic, "World's Oldest Rain Forest Frogs Found in Amber," 14 June 2018
In fact, La Chingada is idyllic—full of bamboo groves, palm and mango trees where Mr. López Obrador goes to rest, write and plant more trees.

— juan montes, WSJ, "‘Tropical Messiah’: A Trump-Style Politician Is Mexican Presidential Front Runner," 30 May 2018
The contrast of colors created by the bamboo grove rising into the sky and the red bridge parapets evokes the beauty of Japanese scenery like that of Kyoto.

— scott gilman, Town & Country, "How to Plan a Trip to Japan," 5 Oct. 2016
Hundreds of thousands of people attend, wearing traditional summer kimonos called yukatas and sandals made of wood or bamboo.

— laura mallonee, WIRED, "'Fire Flowers' Dazzle in Gorgeous Photos of Japanese Fireworks," 4 July 2018
This is a major threat to the bears in large part because bamboo, their main food source, is so low in nutrients that each bear must roam a lot of land in order to find and eat enough of it.

— amina khan, latimes.com, "Preserving more habitat for China's giant pandas is having a giant payoff, study says," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bamboo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.