bamboo
Americannoun
plural
bamboos-
any of the woody or treelike tropical and semitropical grasses of the genera Bambusa, Phyllostachys, Dendrocalamus, and allied genera, having woody, usually hollow stems with stalked blades and flowering only after years of growth.
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the stem of such a plant, used as a building material and for making furniture, poles, etc.
noun
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any tall treelike tropical or semitropical fast-growing grass of the genus Bambusa , having hollow woody-walled stems with ringed joints and edible young shoots ( bamboo shoots )
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the stem of any of these plants, used for building, poles, and furniture
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any of various bamboo-like grasses of the genera Arundinaria , Phyllostachys or Dendrocalamus
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(modifier) made of bamboo
a bamboo fence
Etymology
Origin of bamboo
1590–1600; spelling variant of earlier bambu < Malay, apparently < Dravidian; compare Kannada bambu, bombu a large, hollow bam-boo (or directly < Dravidian); replacing bambus < Dutch bamboes; compare New Latin bambūsa
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Living in the area, I drive by it a thousand times and then I remember, “Oh yeah, there’s a rainforest in here. There’s thick stands of bamboo forest that look like Vietnam.”
From Los Angeles Times
He dug a vegetable garden in the rich soil at Fire Mountain’s base and planted avocados, bananas, lettuce, oranges, pineapples, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes, and bamboo for making pipes and useful things.
From Literature
Would it be bamboo charcoal memory foam, a C-shaped full body or a honeycomb hole?
It had a roll-down bamboo window shade and a fine closet full of shelves and a pull-out trundle in case someday a friend came to spend the night.
From Literature
“I’ve been chosen from the bamboo class to be on the relay team.”
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
