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overstory

American  
[oh-ver-stawr-ee, -stohr-ee] / ˈoʊ vərˌstɔr i, -ˌstoʊr i /

noun

overstories plural
  1. the uppermost layer of foliage in a forest, forming the canopy.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of overstory

1480–90, for an earlier sense; 1955–60 for current sense; over- + story 2

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:

These practices over time yielded "mosaics" of forests made up of diverse patches of trees varying in age, density, and overstory and understory composition.

From Science Daily Apr. 10, 2024

Breaks in the verdant overstory at marked viewpoints offer scenic vistas of Vashon Island, Dalco Passage and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

From Seattle Times Aug. 24, 2022

The narrative braid, meanwhile — the overstory — grows more tangled.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 8, 2022

On many parts of tribal land, most of the trees in the overstory survived.

From Salon Nov. 7, 2021

Removal of all overstory trees and other interfering growth.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 41st Annual Meeting Pleasant Valley, New York, August 28, 29 and 30, 1950 by Northern Nut Growers Association

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