noun
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the science of planting and caring for trees
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the planting and management of forests
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rare forest land
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of forestry
From the Middle French word foresterie, dating back to 1685–95. See forest, -ry
Explanation
The practice of managing or caring for woodlands is known as forestry. If you like the sound of all of those trees, some jobs associated with forestry include conservationist, park ranger, and timber manager. The word forestry, defined in the 17th century as "privilege of a royal forest," comes from the Medieval Latin forestem silvam, "the outside woods." By the mid-1800s, the word began to be used for "science of managing forests," a meaning it still holds today. The term actually covers a lot of (heavily forested) ground, including preserving endangered trees, protecting the habitats of animals that depend on forests, and keeping humans safe from forest fires.
Vocabulary lists containing forestry
Africa - Introductory
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Canada - Introductory
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East Asia - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Fires that spread near to the site restricted their roaming area further, leaving them without a safe route to other forestry.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
But the underlying questions about the impacts of clearfelling, and how they compared to less intensive forestry options, remained unresolved.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
Brian Oswald, a 69-year-old retired forestry professor from Nacogdoches, Texas, came straight to Oktoberfest after landing on an overnight flight from the United States.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Representatives from the Duchy of Cornwall also joined the visit to share learning about nature recovery, climate-resilient forestry and to start a long-term partnership.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
There was some legal jargon, but I grasped this: She committed J.T. and Digger to the custody of juvenile services—to nine months in a forestry camp for juvenile offenders out in western Maryland.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
Sundstrom reckons sectors such as integrated forestries and shipping could enjoy significant price gains "as markets are still betting on prices mean-reverting."
From Reuters ● Aug. 11, 2021
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
