1
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
the elephant lumbered through the jungle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stumble
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
the novel's plot lumbers to its predictable conclusion after 500 long pages
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in to load
to place a weight or burden on
preparations that will lumber the expedition with unnecessary equipment and supplies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lumber
Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 14 Apr. 2026
Eventually Ursula yawns and lumbers out of the den, with the cubs following.
—Brooke Baitinger, Sacbee.com, 10 Apr. 2026
Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2026
Your littlest charges will marvel at the size of the camels, tortoises and giraffes lumbering about the zoo’s meandering paths, and then eagerly pet goats and sheep in the farmyard.
—Susan McDonald, The Providence Journal, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lumber
Noun
The 4-by-8-foot panels, which cover 32 square feet, are easy to install and are sold at home centers and lumber yards.
—Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 14 Apr. 2026
Eventually Ursula yawns and lumbers out of the den, with the cubs following.
—Brooke Baitinger, Sacbee.com, 10 Apr. 2026
Verb
Its creators, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, Frankensteined the series by stitching together two moribund TV genres—the mockumentary sitcom and the prank show—to construct something new, if still lumbering.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2026
Your littlest charges will marvel at the size of the camels, tortoises and giraffes lumbering about the zoo’s meandering paths, and then eagerly pet goats and sheep in the farmyard.
—Susan McDonald, The Providence Journal, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for lumber
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lumber
Noun
-
Prioritize a deck or any other structural wood over something like a split-rail fence.—
Miri Talabac,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Apr. 2026
-
In the woods outside Carmel, New York, a hunter finds the bones of a twelve-year-old girl, and the unraveling begins.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Growing up in a military family, Vogel shuffled between the East Coast and Europe every two to three years.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The Bruins are shuffling off to Buffalo.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The show follows Nicky (Levy) and Morgan Dardano (Taylor Ortega), a pastor-and-teacher sibling duo from New Jersey who stumble into organized crime after Morgan steals a necklace from a postal store to bury with their dying grandmother.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
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When a character speaks English, an accent is employed and the manner is often a bit stumbling.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The storms have rumbled across a number of states for the better part of this week and could continue into the early weekend.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
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Just outside the main entrance of Spectrum Center, as a saxophone blared and drums rumbled and fans hummed past each other with life, there stood Bradley Davis.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Domínguez struck out Cedric Mullins, but the Rays then loaded the bases with a single, a walk and a batter getting hit by a pitch.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Jakob Junis was charged with three runs in 1 1/3 innings after Jacob Latz entered with the bases loaded and gave up Kurtz's double.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This might look like a strip of timber between two waterways, a saddle between two ridge tops, or a flat between a river and a steep hillside.—
Alex Robinson,
Outdoor Life,
16 Apr. 2026
-
There’s a $50,000 purse on the line for the Grand National, a 3 1/4 mile timber race in Butler on Saturday.—
Sean Clancy,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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New surveillance video from inside a Brooklyn liquor store shows another angle of the rough mistaken identity arrest that ignited a firestorm of criticism, offering a different angle as one of the detectives appears to stomp the prone suspect.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
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According to a transcript of Morales’ preliminary hearing, Morales allegedly stomped on Pulido’s head three to four dozen times, punched him in the head, slammed his head, and then heel stomped his head 20 more times.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Niners have struggled with consistency from their wide receivers, largely due to injuries.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2026
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The plant, which was the state’s largest maker of panelized components, struggled under the weight of reduced demand because of higher interest rates and fluctuating lumber costs.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lumber.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumber. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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