lumber
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to move in a slow, heavy, and awkward way.
v.to move with a heavy, clumsy, or noisy gait. Intransitive — often used with a prepositional phrase of direction.
Simple“The huge bear started to lumber toward the river to catch some fish.”
In context“The old freighter began to lumber out of the harbour, its engines groaning under the weight of the heavy cargo.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to give someone a job or a responsibility they do not want.
v.to burden or encumber someone with an unwanted task or responsibility. Transitive — frequently used in the passive voice with 'with'.
Simple“I got lumbered with all the cleaning after the party finished.”
In context“The junior consultant was lumbered with the tedious task of cross-referencing three years of financial spreadsheets over the weekend.”
UsageUsually takes the preposition 'with'.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.wood that has been cut into boards or planks for building things.
n.timber sawed or split into planks, boards, or other structural forms. Uncountable in this sense.
Simple“We bought some lumber from the local store to build a new fence.”
In context“The construction crew stacked the lumber neatly on the site, ensuring the cedar planks were protected from the rising damp.”
Teacher's tipIn British English, 'timber' is the standard term for this material; 'lumber' is specifically North American.
- 04 C2 Proficiency
n.old furniture or things that are stored away and take up too much space.
n.disused or cumbersome articles, such as old furniture, that occupy space without being useful.
Simple“The attic was filled with the lumber of several generations.”
In context“He spent the afternoon clearing the dusty lumber from the basement, unearthing broken chairs and rusted tools from the previous century.”
“Now that talks have broken down, Canada has been hit with new 50% US tariffs on a range of Canadian goods, in addition to existing US tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium, automobiles and lumber.”
“The two countries have wrangled for decades over trade, poking each other over sore spots like Canadian softwood lumber imports and US access to Canada’s protected dairy market.”
Exact origin unknown. The earliest recorded reference for the noun was to heavy, useless objects such as old, discarded furniture. Perhaps from the verb lumber in reference to meaning "awkward to move"; Online Etymological Dictionary thinks this may derive from the same root as lame. Possibly influenced by Lumbar, an obsolete variant of Lombard, the Italian immigrant class known for being pawnbrokers and money-lenders in early England. Compare English lumpish.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.