bamboo

UK /ˌbæmˈbuː/ US /bæmˈbuː/ Syllables: bam-boo

Pronunciation

Noun A1 Beginner Neutral

A tall, fast growing plant with a hard, hollow stem, often used to make furniture.

Bamboo is a tall, fast-growing plant with a hard, hollow stem divided into sections. It is a type of grass, though it can grow as tall as a tree. In Asia, people use bamboo to build houses, make furniture, baskets and tools, and to cook with. Giant pandas eat bamboo leaves. Bamboo is strong and light, and many people choose it as an eco-friendly material because it grows quickly. A young shoot of bamboo can be eaten as a vegetable.

"Pandas spend most of the day eating bamboo."

Example sentences

"The panda ate bamboo all afternoon."

Level A2
"The house has a bamboo floor."

Level A2
"We walked through a quiet bamboo forest."

Level B1
"Bamboo grows very quickly."

Level A2

Look-alikes and common mistakes

reed : A reed is a thin water plant. Bamboo is a woody grass with a hollow stem.
cane : Cane is a hard stem, such as sugar cane. Bamboo is a particular type of strong, hollow cane.

Word family and forms

bamboo shoot bamboo forest bamboo floor

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "bamboo".

a bamboo forest
bamboo shoots
a bamboo floor
bamboo furniture
a bamboo stick
bamboo fiber

Origin

Bamboo came into English in the 1590s through Dutch bamboe and Portuguese bambu, from the Malay word bambu. The Malay word may come from a Dravidian language of India, such as Kannada. Earlier English writers spelled it bambu.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Bamboo has two o's in the middle, like a doubled boo: bam-BOO. Say it with the stress on the end.

Test yourself

Which word fits the gap? "The panda ate _____ all afternoon."

Answer: bamboo

In your own words, what does "bamboo" mean?