: a piece of lumber approximately 2 by 4 inches as sawed and usually 1 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches when dressed
1
: small or petty of its kind
this house and its two-by-four garden—
Philip Barry
Philip Barry2
: measuring two units (such as inches) by four
Examples of two-by-four in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2025
President Trump has been threatening friend and foe alike with the foreign policy equivalent of a two-by-four.
—Marc Caputo, Axios, 28 Jan. 2025
Doing so would have been like attempting a balancing act on a slippery two-by-four.
—Jim Carmichel, Outdoor Life, 25 July 2024
Melton has seen cases in which property owners have smashed a tenant’s electrical box with a sledgehammer, removed a home’s front door with a circular saw, and placed a two-by-four full of nails across a renter’s driveway to pop the tires of the family car.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 11 July 2024
This legal and financial two-by-four is sorely needed in Florida.
—Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2024
The Mexican drug cartel hit man was found guilty of killing two people in Arlington in 2017, beheading one of the victims, and mutilating their bodies with a machete and a two-by-four.
—Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2024
Jacobsen took photos of wood rot, a broken joist held together with a two-by-four, a major beam supported by a temporary, metal brace.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
His work helped form the then-emerging future bass subgenre, which, like the bass music that influenced it, is huge and often heavy but also simultaneously soft — like getting hit in the head with a two-by-four wrapped in velvet.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2024
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Noun
Wilson’s father, Murry, battered Brian psychologically and physically, including hitting his then-teenaged son in the head so hard with a two-by-four piece of wood that the younger Wilson lost his hearing in one ear.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 June 2025
President Trump has been threatening friend and foe alike with the foreign policy equivalent of a two-by-four.
—Marc Caputo, Axios, 28 Jan. 2025
Doing so would have been like attempting a balancing act on a slippery two-by-four.
—Jim Carmichel, Outdoor Life, 25 July 2024
Melton has seen cases in which property owners have smashed a tenant’s electrical box with a sledgehammer, removed a home’s front door with a circular saw, and placed a two-by-four full of nails across a renter’s driveway to pop the tires of the family car.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 11 July 2024
This legal and financial two-by-four is sorely needed in Florida.
—Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2024
The Mexican drug cartel hit man was found guilty of killing two people in Arlington in 2017, beheading one of the victims, and mutilating their bodies with a machete and a two-by-four.
—Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2024
Jacobsen took photos of wood rot, a broken joist held together with a two-by-four, a major beam supported by a temporary, metal brace.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
His work helped form the then-emerging future bass subgenre, which, like the bass music that influenced it, is huge and often heavy but also simultaneously soft — like getting hit in the head with a two-by-four wrapped in velvet.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Two-by-four.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/two-by-four. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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