alder
noun
Simple meaning
Wood of any of different alder trees.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
awlderSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɔldɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Wood of any of various alder trees; resistant to underwater rot; used for bridges etc
“The cabinetmaker chose alder for its smooth grain and warm color.”
An alderman or alderwoman.
Word at a Glance
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Wood of any of various alder trees; resistant to underwater rot; used for bridges etc
Used this way, alder is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The cabinetmaker chose alder for its smooth grain and warm color.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “alder for …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: alder for …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Small tree common in Europe.
Dark-colored insect having predaceous aquatic larvae.
Shrub or small tree of northwestern North America having fragrant creamy white flowers and small waxy purple-red fruits.
North temperate shrubs or trees having toothed leaves and conelike fruit.
A disease of alders caused by the woolly alder aphid (a plant louse).
Small tree common in Europe.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.