forest

American  

[fawr-ist, for-] / ˈfɔr ɪst, ˈfɒr- /

noun

forests plural

1. a large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush; woodland.

2. the trees on such a tract.

   to cut down a forest.

3. a tract of wooded grounds in England formerly belonging to the sovereign and set apart for game.

4. a thick cluster of vertical objects.

   a forest of church spires.

---

verb (used with object)

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

forest British  

/ fəˈrɛstɪəl, ˈfɒrɪst /

noun

1. a large wooded area having a thick growth of trees and plants

2. the trees of such an area

3. an area planted with exotic pines or similar trees Compare bush 1

4. something resembling a large wooded area, esp in density

   a forest of telegraph poles

5. 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

6. (modifier) of, involving, or living in a forest or forests

   a forest glade

---

verb

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

forest Scientific  

/ fôr′ĭst /

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

---

forest Idioms  

1. see can't see the forest for the trees.

---

Usage

What does forest mean? A forest is a large area of land that’s covered in trees. The word forest can also refer collectively to those trees. An area that’s covered in trees can be described with the adjective forested. Less commonly, forest can be used as a verb meaning to cover an area with trees. This sense of the word is used in the terms deforestation (the clearing of a forested area) and reforesting (planting trees in a woodland that has been deforested or destroyed by a forest fire). Sometimes, forest is used in a figurative way to refer to a collection of vertical objects clustered together, as in Many of these new cities look like forests of skyscrapers. Example: We were deep in the forest, with no roads or buildings for miles.

Synonym Usage

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 Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonforest
  noun
• forest-like
  adjective
• forestal
  adjective
• forested
  adjective
• forestial
  adjective
• forestless
  adjective
• forestlike
  adjective
• nonforested
  adjective
• unforested
  adjective
• well-forested
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• forests
  plural

Etymology

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

Explanation

A forest is a densely wooded area, or land covered with trees and shrubs. As a verb it means to establish a forest where none existed before. Famous forests include the Sherwood Forest of Nottinghamshire, England, associated with legend of Robin Hood; the Black Forest of southwestern Germany, so named because it's so dense that very little light enters it; the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil (and 8 other countries of South America); and the forests that make up the Redwood National and State Parks of California, where you can find the tallest trees on earth.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forest forests

The Canadian economy has struggled under the weight of sector-specific tariffs of up to 50%, targeting automobiles, steel, aluminum and forest products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

In 2024, the Amazon rainforest experienced its worst forest fires in over two decades, which the Copernicus Climate Change Service put down to "climate extremes and human activity".

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Canada's 270 million hectares of boreal forest -- that is forest in high-latitude environments -- comprises 28 percent of the world's boreal zone.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

Spa Hyu looks like a cross between a bathhouse and a tropical forest — as designed by Willy Wonka.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

But if one had seen it on the forest floor, one would have thought it was merely an oddly shaped stump: the cover made of scaly bark, the thick pages bound with twine.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

And under a climate change–driven heat dome that fuels more storms, the forests are all the more susceptible to inopportune lightning strikes.

From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026

"There is real concern that the forest will become less resilient to climate change," said Bergeron, who added it is normal for between 0.5 and 1.0 percent of Canadian forests to burn each year.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

They lived in the forests of what is now northern Queensland before disappearing around 15 million years ago.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

It’s true that many decades of poor land management have resulted in overgrown forests in Canada, but the same goes for the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

It had no mountains, no waterfalls, no forests.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

Related Words

• jungle
• park
• thicket
• timber
• wood
• woodland