timber

/ˈtɪmbə/

//ˈtɪmbə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"timber" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“timber” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,072. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,072
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.

Corpus desk

Index EN-timber · timber · English

timber · rank #7,072 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,072
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH thumb

Nearest frequency peer: thumb (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “timber”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “timber” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

timber vs time
67% similar
timber vs times
67% similar
timber vs timer
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for timber
PropertyValue
Headwordtimber
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɪmbə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,072
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “timber”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).timberlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “thumb” (#7,071), “transparent” (#7,073), “theoretical” (#7,070). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “timber” is #7,072. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around timber (IPA /ˈtɪmbə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,072 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for timber, with forms such as "itmber", "tibmer", and "timbber". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "time", "times", "timer", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-West Germanic *timr, from Proto-Germanic *timrą, from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“build, house”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm). Cognates include Dutch timmer, Old High German zimbar (German Zi… The correct English form is timber, spelled T-I-M-B-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.
  2. 2
    Wood that has been pre-cut and is ready for use in construction.
  3. 3
    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.
  4. 4
    Material for any structure.
  5. 5
    The wooden stock of a rifle or shotgun.
  6. 6
    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.
  7. 7
    The stumps.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how timber appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. collect timber
  2. cut down timber

Etymology

From Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-West Germanic *timr, from Proto-Germanic *timrą, from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“build, house”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm). Cognates include Dutch timmer, Old High German zimbar (German Zimmer), Norwegian tømmer, Old Norse timbr, Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌼𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (timrjan, “to build”), Latin domus and Ancient Greek δόμος (dómos).

Synonyms

timberlandforestlumberwoodbeamrafter

This word in other languages

madera(Español)bois(Français)Holz(Deutsch)madeira(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • itmber
  • tibmer
  • timbber
  • timberr
  • timebr
  • timmber
  • tmiber
  • ttimber

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of timber - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

itmber2tibmer2timbber1timberr1timebr2timmber1tmiber2ttimber1
Edit distance from "timber"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "timber"?
"timber" is spelled T-I-M-B-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɪmbə/.
What does "timber" mean?
As a noun, "timber" means: Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.
What words are commonly confused with "timber"?
"timber" is commonly confused with "time", "times", "timer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "timber"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "timber" is /ˈtɪmbə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "timber"?
From Middle English tymber, from Old English timber, from Proto-West Germanic *timr, from Proto-Germanic *timrą, from Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“build, house”) (see Proto-Indo-European *dṓm). Cognates include Dutch timmer, Old High German zimbar ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "timber", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Travis#7,074upside#7,078seller#7,057wolves#7,087

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

thumb8 variantsstark8 variantswrist8 variantsabused8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list