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”).
Meanings
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!" 1961, Robert S. Close, With Hooves of Brass, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 34:
(broadly) 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!" 1991, Rex Mossop, The Moose That Roared, Sydney: Ironbark Press, page 160:
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timber!
canonical
lexicographic
Translations (19)
fi puu kaatuu! (warning shout used by loggers) · hu dől a fa! (warning shout used by loggers) · es tronco va (warning shout used by loggers) · es árbol va (warning shout used by loggers) · ro cade! (warning shout used by loggers) · ar خَشَب! (warning shout used by loggers) · fr attention! (warning shout used by loggers) · pt madeira! (warning shout used by loggers) · sh drvo pada! (warning shout used by loggers) · sv timmer! (warning shout used by loggers) · ru побереги́сь! (warning shout used by loggers) · is timbur! (warning shout used by loggers) · sw mbao (warning shout used by loggers) · de Baum fällt! (warning shout used by loggers) · nl onderuit! (warning shout used by loggers) · th ไม้ล้ม (warning shout used by loggers) · es fuera abajo (warning shout used by loggers) · nl van onderen (warning shout used by loggers) · fr gare! (warning shout used by loggers)
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”).
Meanings
(uncountable) Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.
cut down timber
Soon, he convinced his uncle to show him how to harvest ash, the local timber that—cut, hauled, sliced, and hand-pounded into thin strips—is typically used. 2026 May 14, Hannah Martin, “Fancy Baskets”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 97:
collect timber
(US, qualifier:outside Canada, uncountable) Wood that has been pre-cut and is ready for use in construction.
(countable) 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
(countable, uncountable) Material for any structure.
(countable, informal, uncountable) The wooden stock of a rifle or shotgun.
(archaic, countable, uncountable) 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.
timberland (trees considered as a source of wood) · lumber (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · forest (trees considered as a source of wood) · wood (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · beam (beam used to support a roof) · rafter (beam used to support a roof)
Translations (148)
bg греда́ (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · luy embao (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ru лес на корню́ (trees considered as a source of wood) · wa bwès d' tcherpinte (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · bg дъ́рвен материа́л (trees considered as a source of wood) · nb trevirke (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ru древеси́на (trees considered as a source of wood) · el δοκάρι (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · sh dȑvo (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ml മരം (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · es leño (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · hy գերան (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · es madera (trees considered as a source of wood) · el ξυλεία (trees considered as a source of wood) · sa काष्ठ (trees considered as a source of wood) · tr ahşap (trees considered as a source of wood) · gl madeira (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · sh дрва (trees considered as a source of wood) · umu ăpánzhuy (trees considered as a source of wood) · tr kereste (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · cy pren (trees considered as a source of wood) · cy pren (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · mh aļaļ (trees considered as a source of wood) · nl dakbalk (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · is viður (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · te కలప (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · bg дърво́ (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · fi puu (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · sw mbao (trees considered as a source of wood) · de Konstruktionsholz (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · uk деревина́ (trees considered as a source of wood) · fr bois de charpente (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ga adhmad (trees considered as a source of wood) · ja 材木 (trees considered as a source of wood) · ro cherestea (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · sa काष्ठ (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · uk лісоматеріа́л (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · is timbur (trees considered as a source of wood) · az oduncaq (trees considered as a source of wood) · hy փայտանյութ (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · de Schnittholz (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · el ξυλεία (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · sv trä (trees considered as a source of wood) · de Bauholz (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · it legno (trees considered as a source of wood) · ga ánshraith (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · sh stalak (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · sw mbao (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · fr madrier (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · de Konstruktionsvollholz (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · pt viga (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · pt madeira (trees considered as a source of wood) · lt rąstas (trees considered as a source of wood) · pl drewno (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · kk бөрене (trees considered as a source of wood) · ar خَشَب (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · fi puutavara (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · cmn 木材 (trees considered as a source of wood) · ca fusta (trees considered as a source of wood) · ja 木材 (trees considered as a source of wood) · lt mediena (trees considered as a source of wood) · ko 들보 (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · ru строево́й лес (trees considered as a source of wood) · mh aļaļ (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · hy շինափայտ (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · hy փայտեղեն (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ms balak (trees considered as a source of wood) · ko 재목 (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · is timbur (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · sh др̏во (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · be лесаматэрыя́л (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · hu épületfa (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · my သစ် (trees considered as a source of wood) · ang timber (trees considered as a source of wood) · da tømmer (trees considered as a source of wood) · te కలప (trees considered as a source of wood) · fi kurkihirsi (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · sw mbao (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · de Stütze (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · fi puu (trees considered as a source of wood) · ru пиломатериа́лы (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · fr poutre (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · wa mairin (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · hy անտառանյութ (trees considered as a source of wood) · fi puusto (trees considered as a source of wood) · de Balken (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · ko 목재 (trees considered as a source of wood) · kmr dar (trees considered as a source of wood) · de Nutzholz (trees considered as a source of wood) · fr bois (trees considered as a source of wood) · tl baol (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · de Säule (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · pl drzewa (trees considered as a source of wood) · fr membrure [ship] (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · nl timmerhout (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ja 材木 (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · fa-ira اَلْوار (trees considered as a source of wood) · it legname (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · es leña (trees considered as a source of wood) · sa दारु (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · nl hout (trees considered as a source of wood) · hy փայտանյութ (trees considered as a source of wood) · is viður (trees considered as a source of wood) · nl kaphout (trees considered as a source of wood) · gl madeira (trees considered as a source of wood) · ang timber (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ru деревоматериа́л (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · de Holz (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · nl hout (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ca biga (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · fi hirsi (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · ar خَشَب (trees considered as a source of wood) · nb takbjelke (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · ru ба́лка (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · de Holz (trees considered as a source of wood) · gl trabe (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · es madero (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · sv timmer (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · sv virke (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · hy հեծան (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · ru лесоматериа́л (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · es polín (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · kmr dar (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · sh drva (trees considered as a source of wood) · hy ատաղձ (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · nl balk (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · nb tømmer (trees considered as a source of wood) · mer mpao (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · tr kerestelik orman (trees considered as a source of wood) · cmn 木材 (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · be драўні́на (trees considered as a source of wood) · fr arbres (trees considered as a source of wood) · pt madeira (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · fr bois de construction (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ko 제목 (trees considered as a source of wood) · es viga (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · es madero (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · gd fiodh (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ja 梁 (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · fr bois de menuiserie (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ota كرسته (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · my သစ် (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · ml മരം (trees considered as a source of wood) · ja 木材 (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · bg дъ́рвен материа́л (wood that has been cut ready for construction) · kmr karîte (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · de Stiel (beam used to support something such as a roof or a ship) · cmn 木料 (wood that has been cut ready for construction)
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”).
Meanings
(transitive) To fit with timbers.
timbering a roof
(obsolete, transitive) To construct, frame, build.
For many heads that undertake [learning], were never squared nor timbred for it. 1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, London: Edw. Dod & Nath. Ekins, published 1650, Book I, Chapter 5, p. 14: