forest

[ fawr-ist, for- ]

See synonyms for: forest forested forests forestlike on Thesaurus.com

noun

a large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush; woodland.
the trees on such a tract: to cut down a forest.

a tract of wooded grounds in England formerly belonging to the sovereign and set apart for game.
a thick cluster of vertical objects: a forest of church spires.

verb (used with object)

to supply or cover with trees; convert into a forest.

Origin of forest

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin forestis (silva) “an unenclosed wood” (as opposed to a park), derivative of Latin forīs “outside.” Cf. foreign

synonym study For forest

1. Forest, grove, wood refer to an area covered with trees. A forest is an extensive area, preserving some or all of its primitive wildness and usually having game or wild animals in it: Sherwood Forest; the Black Forest. A grove is a group or cluster of trees, usually not very large in area and cleared of underbrush. It is usually tended or cultivated: a shady grove; a grove of pines; an orange grove; a walnut grove. Woods (or a wood ) resembles a forest but is a smaller tract of land, less wild in character, and generally closer to civilization: lost in the woods; a wood covering several acres.

Other words from forest

for·est·al, fo·res·tial [fuh-res-chuhl], /fəˈrɛs tʃəl/, adjective
for·est·ed, adjective
for·est·less, adjective
for·est·like, adjective
non·for·est, noun
non·for·est·ed, adjective
un·for·est·ed, adjective
well-for·est·ed, adjective

Words Nearby forest

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use forest in a sentence

During the country’s dry season in 2019, nearly 4 million acres of peatland and tropical forest were burned.
What wildfires in Brazil, Siberia, and the US West have in common | Lili Pike | September 17, 2020 | Vox
It can also mean using saws and machines to cut and thin the forests.
Suppressing fires has failed. Here’s what California needs to do instead. | James Temple | September 17, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
Then, over the past few decades, the forests of Sarawak faced threats unlike any before.
The Environmental Headache in Your Shampoo - Issue 90: Something Green | Anastasia Bendebury & Michael Shilo DeLay | September 16, 2020 | Nautilus
Severe wildfires across the American West may already be altering the future of forests there.
Severe wildfires in the West may already be altering the future of forests | Alison Snyder | September 10, 2020 | Axios
Once it’s in wild boar in the forests there, it can be very difficult to control.
Europe is on high alert after a deadly swine virus emerges in Germany | Bernhard Warner | September 10, 2020 | Fortune

He first rose to prominence as a lawyer in Queens, who settled a boiling racial dispute over public housing in forest Hills.
Mario Cuomo: An OK Governor, but a Far Better Person | Michael Tomasky | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
“It fundamentally changes the architecture of forest canopies,” says Watson.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants | Helen Thompson | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The birds poop all over the forest, and thanks to the viscin, the mistletoe seeds in said poop stick to branches.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants | Helen Thompson | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Instead, most of the suffering species ate insects on the forest floor.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants | Helen Thompson | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
From the looks of it, mistletoe is a keystone species and plays a crucial role in that forest ecosystem.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants | Helen Thompson | December 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
However, they were not seen to venture far into the surrounding deciduous forest.
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula | Erwin E. Klaas
He swims every day in the river; he fishes from his bamboo raft; he hunts in the forest with his father.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton Wade
And the covering of Juda shall be discovered, and thou shalt see in that day the armoury of the house of the forest.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
After this it wound along on ridges and in ravines till it reached the heart of a great pine forest, where stood a saw-mill.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
They started in the early morning and rode out over the plains till they came to the edge of a large forest.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin | Mary Hazelton Wade

British Dictionary definitions for forest

forest

/ (ˈfɒrɪst) /

noun

a large wooded area having a thick growth of trees and plants
the trees of such an area

NZ an area planted with exotic pines or similar trees: Compare bush 1 (def. 4)
something resembling a large wooded area, esp in density: a forest of telegraph poles
law (formerly) an area of woodland, esp one owned by the sovereign and set apart as a hunting ground with its own laws and officers: Compare park (def. 5)
(modifier) of, involving, or living in a forest or forests: a forest glade

verb

(tr) to create a forest (in); plant with trees

Origin of forest

C13: from Old French, from Medieval Latin forestis unfenced woodland, from Latin foris outside

Derived forms of forest

forestal or foresteal (fəˈrɛstɪəl), adjective
forested, adjective
forestless, adjective
forest-like, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for forest

forest

[ fôr′ĭst ]

A growth of trees covering a large area. Forests exist in all regions of the Earth except for regions of extreme cold or dryness.

Other Idioms and Phrases with forest

forest

see can't see the forest for the trees.

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