Woodland is a natural habitat with many plants and trees. Therefore, a zebra would not be considered a woodland animal, but a deer would fit the bill. You can use woodland as a noun, or as an adjective to describe things that have something to do with this particular kind of land, like woodland animals or a woodland habitat. Woodlands usually feature trees, grasses, shrubs, and other plants. If you're walking in the woods and the trees almost completely block the sunlight, you're in a forest, not a woodland. The Old English version was wudulond.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The model is spread across Otford, near Sevenoaks, with representations of the Sun and planets placed around the parish and stretching into nearby woodland.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
Rescuers quickly mobilized a network of volunteers and professionals from across California, tapping about 20 agencies to assist in scouring some 60,000 acres of woodland.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026
Not the tropical kind you may be thinking of, but an ancient and precious woodland known as a temperate rainforest.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
Just 0.04% of Northern Ireland's total land area is ancient woodland, according to the Woodland Trust.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
He knew, having watched Matthias since the first day he arrived at the Abbey gates, a woodland orphan, always polite, willing and cheerful.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
