Timber refers to wood before it is treated for use in building—either wood still inside trees, or trees that have been cut into long pieces, but not prepared otherwise.
Timbre refers to a property of sounds, especially musical sounds, although all sounds have timbre. Also known as sound quality, timbre is the difference in sound between two different instruments playing the same note. Each instrument (or source of sound) has a unique timbre.
Examples of How to Use “Timber” in a Sentence
- The timber decking on the house is starting to rot.
- The forest ranger will determine the timber volume of the tree.
- Jim had to cut down a lot of timber in order to build his house.
- We are selling a variety of timber at a discounted price—if you are ready to start your next project.
Examples of How to Use “Timbre” in a Sentence
- It’s startling that the timbre of Henry’s voice is almost identical to his father’s.
- The timbre of an instrument can be affected by its size and shape.
- I like the sound of your violin, but not of your cello; you should change the strings on your cello to avoid having such a rough timbre.
- Bob made it a point to aim for a different timbre each time he sang a song—no performance ever sounded like the previous one.