Definition of "balsa" [bal•sa]

• A tropical American tree (Ochroma pyramidale) having wood that is soft, very light in weight, and that is used as a substitute for cork in insulation, floats, and crafts such as model airplanes. (noun)
• The wood of this tree. Also called corkwood. (noun)
• A raft consisting of a frame fastened to buoyant cylinders of wood or metal. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Cuban martyrdom is not new - whether we speak of those Don Quixotes who took up arms against the revolution early on, the many would-be Mandelas who rotted in prison or the families who perished on boats fleeing the island, giving a moral meaning to the Spanish word balsa "(raft)."
• "Taking a little float of reeds, called a balsa, they work their way outside the heavy rollers, then watch their opportunity and get their balsa pointed in towards the"
• "This is the kind of balsa-wood backstory that is knocked into Hollywood plots every day. as tidy and punctual as postage stamps"