Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A layer of boards or of other wood or fiber materials applied to the outer studs, joists, and rafters of a building to strengthen the structure and serve as a base for an exterior weatherproof cladding.
  • noun Nautical An exterior covering on the underwater part of a ship's hull that protects it against marine growths.
  • noun The act of providing sheathing.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Inclosing by or as by a sheath: as, the sheathing base of a leaf; sheathing stipules, etc. See cut under sheath, 2.
  • noun The act of one who sheathes.
  • noun That which sheathes, covers, or protects, or may be used for such purpose.
  • noun A protection for the main deck of a whaling-vessel, as pine boards, about one inch in thickness, laid over the deck to prevent it from being cut up by the spades, being burned while trying out oil, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • Inclosing with a sheath.
  • noun The casing or covering of a ship's bottom and sides; the materials for such covering.
  • noun (Arch.) The first covering of boards on the outside wall of a frame house or on a timber roof; also, the material used for covering; ceiling boards in general.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Something that wraps around or surrounds something, as a sheath encases its blade.
  • verb Present participle of sheathe.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun protective covering consisting, for example, of a layer of boards applied to the studs and joists of a building to strengthen it and serve as a foundation for a weatherproof exterior

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Yes, you can add corner bracing, but full house wood sheathing is best for resisting wind.

    Better funding through Chemistry: Gore and Dow Chemicals. | RedState 2010

  • The pearly outer sheathing is translucent, obscuring the glowing interior and giving it a muffled shimmer.

    The Treatment 2002

  • The pearly outer sheathing is translucent, obscuring the glowing interior and giving it a muffled shimmer.

    The Treatment 2002

  • And on top of that, some of the sheathing, which is important, was not the right sheathing.

    CNN Transcript Apr 11, 2008 2008

  • The frame above and below is covered with half-inch cedar sheathing, which is not less than six inches in width.

    Four Months in a Sneak-Box 1869

  • Another good way to use plywood is to create an outdoor storage shed roof out of CDX plywood sheathing, which is especially useful for asphalt style shingles.

    unknown title 2009

  • "According to Horner's theory, many other dinosaurs also had this kind of sheathing and also may have been diversely colored" said Parsons.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009

  • Tonight, I'll go home and shower off the industrial concealer sheathing the track scars on my arms and the superfluous tattoos on my shoulders.

    Dear Scarlet Lavinia Ludlow 2011

  • He supposedly cut through the vinyl siding and just kicked through the drywall, the sheathing being a bit on the scarce side.

    Doctor's order Tom Toles 2011

  • I built it of 6 steel beams, with Densglass (gypsum and fiberglass) outer sheathing, which was stuccoed over.

    West Coast Building Materials 2009

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