undergrowth
Americannoun
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low-lying vegetation or small trees growing beneath larger trees; underbrush.
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the condition of being undergrown or undersized.
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short, fine hair underlying longer, outer wool or fur.
noun
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small trees, bushes, ferns, etc, growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest
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the condition of being undergrown
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a growth of short fine hairs beneath longer ones; underfur
Etymology
Origin of undergrowth
Explanation
The plants that grow on a forest floor, including shrubs and small trees, are called undergrowth. If you leave a marked hiking trail in the woods, you might have a hard time getting through the undergrowth. You won't find a lot of undergrowth in a North American forest in the winter — most ferns and other plants die back, and many shrubs and trees lose their leaves. In the summertime, however, undergrowth can be thick and dense under the taller, older trees. This noun dates from the 1600s, a combination of under, "beneath or below," and growth, "something that has grown."
Vocabulary lists containing undergrowth
"The Road Not Taken"
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Into the Wild
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Wolf Hollow
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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.
He said the discovery sparked a huge and "challenging" forensic search in an area of "dense undergrowth".
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
He was surrounded by the soldiers again, who found him hiding in the undergrowth, the head of the military explained.
From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026
This ability allows Balanophora to spread quickly into the narrow ecological niche it prefers: dark, moist forest undergrowth where few other plants can survive.
From Science Daily • Dec. 20, 2025
The tree is native to California and resistant to fire, but not if surrounded by thick mustard weed undergrowth.
From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2025
Some small critter skirts through the undergrowth nearby, rustling through the leaves.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
