#initial-load-header-loader { visibility: hidden!important; } #initial-load-content { visibility: visible!important; } .expandable .expandable-control { display: none!important; } .expandable .expandable-content { display: block!important; visibility: visible!important; max-height: none!important; height: auto!important; }

understory

[ uhn-der-stawr-ee, -stohr-ee ]

/ ˈʌn dərˌstɔr i, -ˌstoʊr i /

|

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR understory ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

Origin of understory

First recorded in 1900–05; under- + story²

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

Examples from the Web for understory

Understory thickets sprang up throughout most of the woodland, and especially in edge situations.
The Forest Habitat of the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation|Henry S. Fitch
Vegetation was pinyon-juniper woodland with an understory of mixed shrubs.
Comparative Ecology of Pinyon Mice and Deer Mice in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado|Charles L. Douglas
A dense growth of coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) forms the understory just below the crest of the hill.
Natural History of the Bell Vireo, Vireo bellii Audubon|Jon C. Barlow
Saplings of honey locust made up an important part of the understory vegetation on this slope.
The Forest Habitat of the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation|Henry S. Fitch

The highest population densities were in pinyon-juniper woodland having an understory of mixed shrubs.
Comparative Ecology of Pinyon Mice and Deer Mice in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado|Charles L. Douglas

Word Origin and History for understory

understory

n.

in reference to forest vegetation, also under-story, 1902, from under + story (n.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper