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kerf

kerf

1 9.1
A thin cut in wood or other material made by a saw
  • noun
  • /kɜrf/
  • Specialized
translation icon : corte
  • When making precise cuts in the wood, it's important to factor in the kerf to avoid wastage.
  • saw kerfs

Examples

  • We just put that in the kerf here and I'll start up at the top and just snap it in.

  • All of the approaches mentioned here involve ways of reducing the kerf losses of the silicon wafer.

    Blog text (23)
  • The textures in the saw kerfs drew my eye, drew my hand.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Clara bought lengths of stock from the lumberyard in Aureole and gave them to the boys, and Cyril began to measure and then to cut carefully, allowing for kerf and the drift of the saw, clamping the stock together as Clara wouldn't have thought of doing.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The carpenter carefully measured the wood, taking into account the kerf from the blade's cut.

  • A laser cutter leaves a very narrow kerf, resulting in clean and accurate cuts.

Synonyms

knick
vskerf
1 4.6

A small cut or mark on a surface that appears when something hits it

is a cut made deliberately by a saw or cutting tool

How Wide

gouge
2 7.2
kerf
  • Specialized
1 9.1
cut
337 1.0
nick
200 3.6

Surface Forms

kerf singular
kerfs plural

Etymology

Kerf comes from an old Germanic word meaning 'to cut' and is related to the English word carve, so a kerf is the small cut, slit, or groove a saw or tool makes in a material.