underbrush

[uhn-der-bruhsh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR underbrush ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

shrubs, saplings, low vines, etc., growing under the large trees in a wood or forest.

Also un·der·bush

[uhn-der-boo sh] /ˈʌn dərˌbʊʃ/.

Origin of underbrush

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75; under- + brush²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for underbrush

thicket, coppice, bush, brake, brush, copse, underwood, brushwood, boscage, boskage, understory

Examples from the Web for underbrush

Historical Examples of underbrush

Some of our men were firing their guns at random into the underbrush.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
With difficulty they had saved the chest and dragged it after them into the mazes of the underbrush.
The Monster Men
Edgar Rice Burroughs
He saw before him rough ground, thickly sown with underbrush.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
Gun in hand, he plunged into the underbrush that lined the side of the trail.
White Fang
Jack London
He whined pleadingly, and scurried playfully in and out of the underbrush.
White Fang
Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for underbrush

underbrush

underbush

noun

mainly US and Canadian undergrowth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for underbrush

"shrub and small trees in a forest," 1775, from under + brush (n.2). Originally American English; cf. undergrowth, attested in the same sense from 1600.