LUMBER


Meaning of LUMBER in English

/ ˈlʌmbə(r); NAmE / noun , verb

■ noun [ U ]

1.

( especially NAmE ) = timber

2.

( BrE ) pieces of furniture, and other large objects that you do not use any more :

a lumber room (= for storing lumber in)

■ verb

1.

[ v + adv. / prep. ] to move in a slow, heavy and awkward way :

A family of elephants lumbered by.

2.

[ vn ] [ usually passive ] lumber sb (with sb/sth) ( informal ) to give sb a responsibility, etc., that they do not want and that they cannot get rid of :

When our parents went out, my sister got lumbered with me for the evening.

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WORD ORIGIN

verb sense 1 late Middle English lomere , perhaps symbolic of clumsy movement.

verb sense 2 and noun mid 16th cent.: perhaps from lumber move slowly and awkwardly ; later associated with obsolete lumber pawnbroker's shop .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.