Definition of Two-by-four

1. Noun. A timber measuring (slightly under) 2 inches by 4 inches in cross section.

Generic synonyms: Timber

Definition of Two-by-four

1. Adjective. measuring two inches by four inches ¹

2. Adjective. (context: by extension) small or cramped ¹

3. Noun. A length of timber having this cross section. (Note: often this is dimensional lumber that was this size BEFORE being planed to finished form, which removes a quarter inch from each side.) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Two-by-four

twizzling
two
two's company, three's a crowd
two's complement
two's complements
two-
two-a-penny
two-armed
two-bagger
two-base hit
two-baser
two-bellied muscle
two-bit
two-blocked
two-body problem
two-by-four (current term)
two-by-fours
two-capsuled
two-carbon fragment
two-chambered
two-channel
two-cleft
two-component plasma
two-decker
two-dimensional
two-dimensional chromatography
two-dimensional figure
two-dimensionality
two-double
two-eared

Literary usage of Two-by-four

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Annual Report by Illinois Farmers' Institute (1902)
"After we have braced well, we set two by four pieces on outside of silo opposite the four by six timbers, about three feet from them, or as wide as you wish ..."

2. Radford's Practical Barn Plans: Being a Complete Collection of Practical by William A. Radford (1909)
"Two by four cement and tied together both inside and or two by six studding may be used ac- out with an extra piece bent around and nailed firmly to each ..."

3. Geer's Hartford City Directory (1896)
"... all door openings are to be properly trussed, two by four inch sills and plates are to be placed at all partitions not resting upon girder beams, ..."

4. Poultry Architecture: A Practical Guide for Construction of Poultry Houses by George Burnap Fiske (1902)
"... six feet by two by six inches, six feet by two by four inches, three pieces eight feet by two by four inches and two pieces twelve feet by two by four ..."

5. The Charter and Ordinances of the City of Portland: Together with Acts of by Portland (Me.)., John T. Fagan, Maine (1902)
"... and all plates sball be not less than four by four inches, or their equivalent in two by four inch pieces. All the posts, girths and sills shall be ..."

6. Barnes's Complete Geography by James Monteith (1895)
"A convenient size- for papers, or slates, is two by four inches ; for the blackboard, two by four feet. Here, every line is just twice the length of that in ..."

7. Annual Report of the American Institute of the City of New York (1855)
"I would saw all my timber for a frame house, or ordinary frame out-building, of the following dimensions: two inches by eight, two by four, two by one. ..."

8. The Gentleman's Magazine (1881)
"For then, having already shown that we can so arrange an oblong of two by three, an oblong of two by four, a square of three by three, an oblong of three by ..."

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