hardwoods

Noun

hardwood (countable and uncountable, plural hardwoods)

1. (countable) The wood from any dicotyledonous tree, without regard to its hardness.
   • Balsa is a hardwood, but a soft hardwood.
2. (countable) (in more general use) As the preceding, but limited to those that are commercial timbers, and are at least average in hardness.
   • Ash, hickory and oak are some of the most prominent domestic hardwoods.
3. (countable) The tree or tree species that yields the preceding.
   • This hardwood has been planted extensively throughout the hills here.
4. (uncountable) A joint term for the commercial timbers, without distinguishing which.
   • You should have used hardwood for this window sill instead of this junk.
5. (slang) The sport of basketball, in particular, an indoor basketball court; so named because the floor of an indoor basketball court is normally made of hardwood.

See all 6 meanings of hardwood