Standard Lemma guide

softwood

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: S AO1 F T W UH2 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The wood from any gymnosperm, without regard to its softness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Wood of this kind, but limited to those that are commercial timbers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The tree or tree species that yields this wood.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: business, forestry

Examples

  • SYP is a softwood, but it is harder than many hardwoods.
  • This softwood has been planted extensively throughout Scotland.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Any commercial timber.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • You should have used softwood for the frame of this shed, instead of overbuilding it like this.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

wood that is easy to saw (from conifers such as pine or fir)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: deal

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: wood

Narrower terms: pulpwood

History

Etymology

From soft + wood. The term refers to the seed coat, or absence thereof, of the tree's seeds; it does not refer to the degree of softness or hardness of the tree's wood, but it seems to do so and is usually assumed to do so by speakers not well informed about trees and timber.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: havupuu — wood from a gymnosperm
  • German: Nadelholz — wood from a gymnosperm
  • Irish: adhmad bog — wood from a gymnosperm
  • Irish: bogadhmad — wood from a gymnosperm
  • Māori: rākau mohe — wood from a gymnosperm
  • Tagalog: banakal — wood from a gymnosperm
  • Finnish: havupuu — commercial timber from a gymnosperm
  • German: Nadelholz — commercial timber from a gymnosperm
  • Irish: adhmad bog — commercial timber from a gymnosperm
  • Irish: bogadhmad — commercial timber from a gymnosperm
  • Finnish: havupuu — tree that yields the timber
  • German: Nadelgewächs — tree that yields the timber
  • German: Nadelholzgewächs — tree that yields the timber
  • German: Nadelholz — tree that yields the timber
  • Finnish: sahatavara — commercial timber in general
  • Finnish: puu — commercial timber in general
  • German: Holz — commercial timber in general
  • German: Bauholz — commercial timber in general