timber

1 of 2

noun

tim·​ber ˈtim-bər 

1

a

: growing trees or their wood

b

—used interjectionally to warn of a falling tree

2

: wood suitable for building or for carpentry

3

a

: a large squared or dressed piece of wood ready for use or forming part of a structure

b

British : lumber sense 2a

c

: a curving frame branching outward from the keel of a ship and bending upward in a vertical direction that is usually composed of several pieces united : rib

4

: material, stuff

especially : a person or type of person qualified for a particular position or status

managerial timber

timber adjective

timber

2 of 2

verb

timbered; timbering ˈtim-b(ə-)riŋ 

transitive verb

: to frame, cover, or support with timbers

Did you know?

Timber and Timbre

Timber and timbre are two similar-looking words that appear in very different contexts. At least most of the time.

Timber traces back to an Old English word initially meaning “house” or “building” that also came to mean “building material,” “wood,” and “trees” or “woods.” Timbers are large squared lengths of wood used for building a house or a boat. In British English, timber is also used as a synonym for lumber.

Metaphorical senses followed after centuries of the word’s use: the word used for building material became a word meaning “material” or “stuff” in general (“it’s best-seller timber”) and came also to refer to the qualities of character, experience, or intellect (“managerial timber”).

And, of course, there’s also the interjectional use of “timber!” as a cry to warn of a falling tree; the fact that most people know this despite few of them ever having deployed the word in such a situation is almost certainly due to cartoons.

Timbre is French in origin, which is apparent in its pronunciation: it is often pronounced \TAM-ber\ and, with a more French-influenced second syllable, \TAM-bruh\. The French ancestor of timbre was borrowed at three different times into English, each time with a different meaning, each time reflecting the evolution that the word had made in French.

The first two meanings timbre had in English (it referred to a kind of drum and to the crest on a coat of arms) are now too obscure for entry in this dictionary, but its third meaning survives. Timbre in modern English generally refers to the quality of a sound made by a particular voice or musical instrument; timbre is useful in being distinct from pitch, intensity, and loudness as a descriptor of sound.

But because English is rarely simple about such things, we have also these facts: timber is listed as a variant spelling of timbre. And timbre may also be correctly pronounced just like timber as \TIM-ber\. And the spelling of timber was unsettled for many years; it was sometimes spelled tymmer, tymber, and, yes, timbre. The messy overlapping of these similar words is coincidental: the consequence of the intersection of the different cultures and languages that left their traces on English.

Synonyms

Noun

• forest
• forestland
• timberland
• wood(s)
• woodland

Examples of timber in a Sentence

Noun

upon our approach the deer disappeared back into the timber from whence it had come

needed a new load of timber to finish building the house

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The current boat launch, which provides access to Lake Superior, is made of timber and has deteriorated over the years, according to documents. —Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024

Massive columns, slender spires and impossibly balanced boulders loom above the timber. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English, building, wood; akin to Old High German zimbar wood, room, Greek demein to build, domos course of stones or bricks

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing timber

• Eastern timber wolf
• half-timber
• timber hitch
• timber rattlesnake
• timber wolf
• timber yard

Kids Definition

timber

noun

tim·​ber

ˈtim-bər

1

a

: growing trees or their wood

b

—used interjectionally to warn of a falling tree

2

: wood for use in making something

3

: a usually large piece of wood squared or finished for use

timber adjective