veneer
UK/vəˈnɪə(ɹ)//vəˈnɪɹ/
veneer noun: a thin decorative covering of fine material (usually wood) applied to coarser wood or other material.
Noun
veneer (countable and uncountable, plural veneers)
- A thin decorative covering of fine material (usually wood) applied to coarser wood or other material.
- Compartment and corridor partitions are of blockboard, with appropriate decorative veneers to suit the varied interior decoration.1951 May, “British Railways Standard Coaches”, in Railway Magazine, pages 327-328
- A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away,[…].1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
- An attractive appearance that covers or disguises one's true nature or feelings, the veneer of culture.
- “Yalda,” Dabashi says, “has managed to survive the centuries because it has been gently recodified with a Muslim veneer.”2014 December 5, “Joy From the World”, in The New York Times Magazine, retrieved 06 Dec 2014
- A layer of material placed over a tooth.
Verb
veneer (third-person singular simple present veneers, present participle veneering, simple past and past participle veneered)
- To apply veneer to.
- to veneer a piece of furniture with mahogany
- The stateroom walls are veneered with finely figured English chestnut with the skirting and mouldings in English walnut.1947 January and February, “South African Royal Train”, in Railway Magazine, page 36
- To disguise with apparent goodness.
- [O]ne / Discuss'd his tutor, rough to common men / But honeying at the whisper of a lord; / And one the Master, as a rogue in grain / Veneer'd with sanctimonious theory.1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Prologue”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 6
- The currently advocated Family Protection Act, which thinly veneers its discriminatory attitudes about strict social conformity and the disallowance of individual choice with a stated concern for today's social fabric.1981 December 19, Andrew C. Irish, “Support For Gay Nurses”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 22, page 4
veneer meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
veneer in Hindi
- thin covering of fine wood
- परत parat
- covering or disguising appearance
- दिखावा dikhāvā, नुमाइश numāiś
veneer in Tamil
- முகத்திரை, முகமூடி
veneer in Urdu
- دکھاوا, اوپری نمائش, اوپری پرت
veneer in Bengali
- বাহ্যিক আবরণ, ভান
More languagesFewer languages
- veneer in Telugu
- వెనీర్
- veneer in Malayalam
- പുറംപൂച്ച്
- veneer in Kannada
- ತೆಳುಹೊದಿಕೆ, ಮೆರುಗು, ಥಳಕು, ಹೊರನಯ
- veneer in Arabic
- قِنَاع qināʕ
- veneer in Persian
- روکش روکش چوبی
Examples of veneer in a sentence
- The front has a brick veneer, and the back is sided in clapboard.
- The furniture was finished in teak veneer.
- Using veneer on MDF can also create the illusion of solid wood.
Forms of veneer
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | veneers |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | veneers |
| present participle | veneering |
| past participle | veneered |
| past | veneered |
Origin of veneer
From German Furnier, from furnieren (“to inlay, cover with a veneer”), from French fournir (“to furnish, accomplish”), from Middle French fornir, from Old French fornir, furnir (“to furnish”), from Old Frankish frumjan (“to provide”), from Proto-Germanic *frumjaną (“to further, promote”). Cognate with Old High German frumjan, frummen (“to accomplish, execute, provide”), Old English fremian (“to promote, perform”). More at furnish.
Words formed from veneer
Phrases with veneer
Words that rhyme with veneer
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- spear
- career
- fear
- here
- steer
- appear
- cavalier
- cheer
- leer
- pioneer
- queer
- volunteer
- adhere
- beer
- chandelier
- deer
- financier
- pier
- premier
- privateer
- sheer
- veer
- vizier
- austere
- bombardier
- brigadier
- cashmere
- commandeer
- disappear
- endear
- grenadier
- interfere
- mere
- mountaineer
- peer
- sear
- tear
- tier
- unclear
- arrear
- bier
- blear
- cameleer
- cashier
- chiffonier
- cohere
- fakir
- farseer
Questions about veneer
- What does veneer mean?
- Veneer means a thin decorative covering of fine material (usually wood) applied to coarser wood or other material.
- What is veneer in Hindi?
- Veneer in Hindi is परत (parat), दिखावा (dikhāvā), नुमाइश (numāiś). See Veneer meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is veneer?
- Veneer can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce veneer?
- Veneer is pronounced /vəˈnɪə(ɹ)/ (UK).
- What is the plural of veneer?
- The plural of veneer is veneers.
Words near veneer in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: veneer (page history and authors); veneer (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); veneer (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); veneer (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); veneer (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); veneer (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); veneer (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-veneer.ogg.
Cite this entry: “veneer.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/veneer. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.