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Showing results for understory. Search instead for under-story.
Synonyms

understory

American  
[uhn-der-stawr-ee, -stohr-ee] / ˈʌn dərˌstɔr i, -ˌstoʊr i /

noun

  1. the shrubs and plants growing beneath the main canopy of a forest.

Etymology

Origin of understory

First recorded in 1900–05; under- + 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.

The understory of the ponderosa and sugar pine forest was speckled with manzanita, oak trees and dogwoods with yellow leaves, marking the start of fall.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2024

These birds, Pollock reasoned, might have more tolerance to temperature fluctuations than their understory counterparts.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2024

You can use these in mixed plantings under your conifers or group a bunch together to form a hedge or thick understory.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 9, 2023

Coffee is an understory plant: It grows best under a canopy of shade-providing trees.

From Salon • Oct. 23, 2023

The trek was rough because we stayed in the forests, where the understory is a jungle of hazelnut, viburnum, and twisted young hardwoods fighting for the sun.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

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.