timber
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timber
- /ˈtɪmbə/ UK
- [ˈtɪˑmˌbəː] UK
- /ˈtɪmbɚ/ US
- [ˈtɪˑmˌbɚː] US
Sounds like timbre (for one US pronunciation) · Rhymes with -ɪmbə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-West Germanic *timr, from Proto-Germanic *timrą (“building; timber”), from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to build; to arrange”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm (“home, house”)).
Cognates
Cognate with Dutch timmer (“building, construction; chamber, room”), German Zimmer (“room, timber”), Luxembourgish Zëmmer (“room”), Yiddish צימער (tsimer, “room”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål tømmer (“timber”), Faroese and Icelandic timbur (“timber, wood”), Norwegian Nynorsk timber, tymbur, tømmer (“timber”), Swedish timmer (“timber”), Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐌱𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timbrjan), 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build, construct; to edify, strengthen”); also Breton danvez (“material, matter; fabric; fortune, wealth”), Cornish devnydh (“inhredient, material, stuff; use”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic damhna (“matter”), Welsh defnydd (“material, stuff; gear, implement, instrument; application; cause, occasion, reason”), Latin domus (“home, house”), Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos, “house; household”), Albanian dhomë (“chamber, room”), Latgalian noms (“house”), Latvian nams (“house”), Lithuanian namas (“house”), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian дом (dom, “home, house”), Czech dům (“house”), Polish, Slovak, and Slovene dom (“home, house”), Serbo-Croatian до̑м, dȏm (“home, house”), Ukrainian дім (dim, “home, house; building”), Armenian տուն (tun, “home, house; family, household”), Avestan 𐬛𐬀𐬨 (dam, “house”), Sanskrit दम् (dam, “house”), दम (dama, “home”).
noun timbers
-
Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.
collect timber
Similar: timberland, forest
- Wood that has been pre-cut and is ready for use in construction.
- A heavy wooden beam, generally a whole log that has been squared off and used to provide heavy support for something such as a roof. the timbers of a ship
- Material for any structure.
- The wooden stock of a rifle or shotgun.
- A certain quantity of fur skins (as of martens, ermines, sables, etc.) packed between boards; in some cases forty skins, in others one hundred and twenty. Also timmer, timbre.
- The stumps.
interjection timber!
- Used by loggers to warn others that a tree being felled is falling. From the core of the trunk come explosive cracks sounding like rifle-fire. The top of the tree begins swaying drunkenly, as if struggling to keep on its feet. The warning cry "Timber!"
- A cry used when anything is falling over. The cameras caught the big man crashing to the studio floor. It seemed to take an age for Sticks to hit the deck and as he went down we all chorused "Timberrrr!"
verb timbers · timbering · timbered
- To fit with timbers. timbering a roof
- To construct, frame, build. For many heads that undertake [learning], were never squared nor timbred for it.
- To light or land on a tree.
- To make a nest.
- To surmount as a timber does.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: woodland, forest, timberland, lumber, quality, tone, timbre, woods, woody, log, forestry, forested, wood, bush, tree, heartwood
Translations
Every language
noun trees considered as a source of wood
| Español | madera, leña |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 목재 mokjae, 제목 jemok |
| 日本語 | 木材 mokuzai, 材木 zaimoku |
| 中文 | 木材 mùcái |
| Kiswahili | mbao |
| Português | madeira |
| Français | bois, arbres |
| Deutsch | Holz, Nutzholz |
| Italiano | legno |
| Ελληνικά | ξυλεία xyleía |
| Русский | лес на корню́ les na kornjú, строево́й лес strojevój les, древеси́на drevesína |
| العربية | خَشَب ḵašab |
noun wood that has been cut ready for construction
| Español | leño, madero |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 재목 jaemok |
| 日本語 | 材木 zaimoku, 木材 mokuzai |
| 中文 | 木料 mùliào, 木材 mùcái |
| Kiswahili | mbao |
| Português | madeira |
| Français | bois de charpente, bois de construction, bois de menuiserie |
| Deutsch | Holz, Bauholz, Schnittholz, Konstruktionsholz, Konstruktionsvollholz |
| Italiano | legname |
| Ελληνικά | ξυλεία xyleía |
| Română | cherestea |
| Русский | пиломатериа́лы pilomateriály, лесоматериа́л lesomateriál, деревоматериа́л derevomateriál |
| العربية | خَشَب ḵašab |
noun beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship
| Español | madero, viga, polín |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 들보 deulbo |
| 日本語 | 梁 hari |
| Kiswahili | mbao |
| Português | viga |
| Français | madrier, poutre, membrure [ship] |
| Deutsch | Stiel, Balken, Säule, Stütze |
| Ελληνικά | δοκάρι dokári |
| Русский | ба́лка bálka |
intj warning shout used by loggers
| Español | fuera abajo, árbol va, tronco va |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | mbao |
| Português | madeira! |
| Français | gare!, attention! |
| Deutsch | Baum fällt! |
| Română | cade! |
| Русский | побереги́сь! poberegísʹ |
| العربية | خَشَب! ḵašab |
Talk about this word "timber." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/timber. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. timber. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/timber "timber." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/timber.Cite this
@misc{timber_2026,
title = {timber},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/timber},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}