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:
Just in Kastoria prefecture, forestry services received over 300 complaints from citizens reporting bears in residential areas between 2025 and last month.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
It said the data submitted to Natural England would help to protect against future development and to improve management of sites for forestry and leisure.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
An exceptional amount of knowledge about botany, forestry, gastronomy, aquatic systems and topography was not just passed along by enslaved people, but created by them.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026
Manufacturing largely focuses on converting used cooking oil, animal fats and forestry waste into jet fuel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
Everyone was talking in hushed voices, and I began to think that forestry camp had to be better than some juvenile jail place, too.
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
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.
