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bamboo

noun · adjective · verb

Simple meaning

A fast-growing grass of the Bambusoideae subfamily, characterised by its woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

bamboo

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

bæmˈbu

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. uncountable

    The wood of the bamboo plant as a material for building, furniture, etc.

  2. A fast-growing grass of the Bambusoideae subfamily, characterised by its woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem.

  3. Woody tropical grass having hollow woody stems; mature canes used for construction and furniture

  4. countable

    A stick, rod, pole, or cane of bamboo, especially one used for corporal punishment.

adjective

  1. Made of the wood of the bamboo.

verb

  1. indiaslang

    To penetrate sexually.

  2. transitive

    To flog with a bamboo cane.

  3. transitive

    To paint (furniture, etc.) to give it the appearance of bamboo.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The wood of the bamboo plant as a material for building, furniture, etc.

Used this way, bamboo is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use bamboo

  • “Pandas love to eat fresh bamboo shoots in the forest.”

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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.