timber

/ˈtɪmbər/

/ˈtɪmbə/

Other forms: timbers

Timber! That's the call of warning you hear before a tree falls. That's because those lumberjacks are going to use the tree to make timber, otherwise known as "lumber" or the wood used for construction.

Timber can actually be the trees used to make or build something, or the wood that comes from those trees, which you could also call "lumber." You might think that when a pirate yells "shiver me timbers!" he's referring to his wooden peg leg. But the timbers he's talking about are actually the boards and planks used to build the frame of a ship.

Definitions of timber

1. noun

   the wood of trees cut and prepared for use as building material
   synonyms: lumber

   types:

   stock

   lumber used in the construction of something

   strip

   thin piece of wood or metal

   board, plank

   a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes

   planking

   planks collectively; a quantity of planks

   batten

   a strip fixed to something to hold it firm

   cleat

   a strip of wood or metal used to strengthen the surface to which it is attached

   fingerboard

   a narrow strip of wood on the neck of some stringed instruments (violin or cello or guitar etc) where the strings are held against the wood with the fingers

   furring, furring strip

   strip used to give a level surface for attaching wallboard

   jackstraw, spillikin

   a thin strip of wood used in playing the game of jackstraws

   matchboard

   a board that has a groove cut into one edge and a tongue cut into the other so they fit tightly together (as in a floor)

   pale, picket

   a wooden strip forming part of a fence

   skid

   one of a pair of planks used to make a track for rolling or sliding objects

   slat, spline

   a thin strip (wood or metal)

   spline

   a flexible strip (wood or rubber) used in drawing curved lines

   toothpick

   pick consisting of a small strip of wood or plastic; used to pick food from between the teeth

   strake, wale

   thick plank forming a ridge along the side of a wooden ship

   chipboard, hardboard

   a cheap hard material made from wood chips that are pressed together and bound with synthetic resin

   deal

   a plank of softwood (fir or pine board)

   type of:

   building material

   material used for constructing buildings
2. noun

   a beam made of wood
   types:

   coulisse

   a timber member grooved to take a sliding panel

   sternpost

   (nautical) the principal upright timber at the stern of a vessel

   stringer

   a long horizontal timber to connect uprights

   two-by-four

   a timber measuring (slightly under) 2 inches by 4 inches in cross section

   type of:

   beam

   long thick piece of wood or metal or concrete, etc., used in construction
3. noun

   a post made of wood
   type of:

   post

   an upright consisting of a piece of timber or metal fixed firmly in an upright position
4. noun

   land that is covered with trees and shrubs
   synonyms: forest, timberland, woodland

   examples:

   Black Forest

   a hilly forest region in southwestern Germany

   Sherwood Forest

   an ancient forest in central England; formerly a royal hunting ground; said to be the home of Robin Hood and his merry band

   Wilderness

   a wooded region in northeastern Virginia near Spotsylvania where bloody but inconclusive battles were fought in the American Civil War

   types:

   greenwood

   woodlands in full leaf

   riparian forest

   woodlands along the banks of stream or river

   silva, sylva

   the forest trees growing in a country or region

   tree farm

   a forest (or part of a forest) where trees are grown for commercial use

   pinetum

   an area planted with pine trees or related conifers

   type of:

   biome

   a major biotic community characterized by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate

   dry land, earth, ground, land, solid ground, terra firma

   the solid part of the earth's surface
5. noun

   (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)
   synonyms: quality, timbre, tone

   types:

   harmonic

   any of a series of musical tones whose frequencies are integral multiples of the frequency of a fundamental

   resonance

   the quality imparted to voiced speech sounds by the action of the resonating chambers of the throat and mouth and nasal cavities

   color, coloration, colour, colouration

   the timbre of a musical sound

   nasality

   a quality of the voice that is produced by nasal resonators

   plangency, resonance, reverberance, ringing, sonority, sonorousness, vibrancy

   having the character of a loud deep sound; the quality of being resonant

   shrillness, stridence, stridency

   having the timbre of a loud high-pitched sound

   register

   (music) the timbre that is characteristic of a certain range and manner of production of the human voice or of different pipe organ stops or of different musical instruments

   nasal twang, twang

   exaggerated nasality in speech (as in some regional dialects)

   head register, head tone, head voice

   the higher ranges of the voice in speaking or singing; the vibrations of sung notes are felt in the head

   chest register, chest tone, chest voice

   the lower ranges of the voice in speaking or singing

   type of:

   sound property

   an attribute of sound