Meaning & use
kerf
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
The narrow slot or channel left in a material after a saw or other tool has cut through it.
Grammar: Used in woodworking and metalwork: the kerf of the blade.
Patterns
- the kerf of a blade
- cut a kerf
A thin blade leaves a narrower kerf and wastes less wood.
The kerf was about three millimeters wide.
She cut a shallow kerf along the edge to help the board bend.
nounsingulartechnical
The width of material removed by a cut, which must be allowed for when measuring.
Grammar: Often in measurement talk: allow for the kerf.
Patterns
- allow for the kerf
- account for the kerf
Remember to allow for the kerf when you mark your boards.
The laser's kerf is so small it barely affects the size of the part.
He forgot to account for the kerf, so the shelf came out too short.
nouncountablespecialist
A cut surface or notch made in a tree when felling it.
Grammar: A forestry use; less common than the woodworking sense.
Patterns
- a kerf in a tree
The logger made a kerf in the trunk to guide the fall.
A deep kerf on the downhill side steered the tree.
Sawdust poured from the fresh kerf.
Word forms
| plural | kerfs |
|---|
Common combinations
- allow for the kerf
- Always allow for the kerf when you measure.
- saw kerf
- A saw kerf can waste more wood than you expect.
- narrow kerf
- The thin blade leaves a narrow kerf.
- laser kerf
- The laser kerf is almost too thin to see.
- kerf width
- Check the kerf width before cutting the panel.
Synonyms and how they differ
- groove
- Groove is general for any long narrow cut, while kerf is the particular slot left by a blade.
- slot
- Slot is any narrow opening, whereas kerf always results from cutting with a tool.
- cut
- Cut can mean the action or its result, but kerf names the width of material removed.
- notch
- Notch is a V-shaped or square cut at an edge, and not always made with a saw.
Word family
- kerfs noun
- plural form, more than one such cut
- kerfing noun
- cutting many shallow slots to let wood bend
- kerf-cut adjective
- made by cutting slots in this way
Commonly confused: kerf or kerb? kerf or kerfuffle?
kerf vs kerb
Kerb is the British spelling of curb, the edge of a pavement, which sounds similar but is unrelated.
kerf vs kerfuffle
A kerfuffle is a fuss or disturbance, and only the first letters are the same.
Practice
The carpenter measured twice, but the board came out short because he forgot to allow for the ____ of the blade.
Choose one answer.
Kerf is the width of material a blade removes when cutting. Kerb and curb mean the edge of a street, and kernel is the core of a seed, so none relates to cutting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kerf”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.