forest

1 of 2

noun

Synonyms of forestnext
often attributive
1
: a dense growth of trees and underbrush covering a large tract
A fire destroyed acres of forest.
forests of pine and mahogany
2
: a tract of wooded land in England formerly owned by the sovereign and used for game
3
: something resembling a forest especially in profusion or lushness
a forest of microphones
a kelp forest
a forest of skyscrapers
forestal adjective
or forestial
fə-ˈre-stē-əl How to pronounce forest (audio)
fȯ-
-ˈres-chəl
-ˈresh-

forest

2 of 2

verb

forested; foresting; forests

transitive verb

: to cover with trees or forest
land densely forested with firs

Examples of forest in a Sentence

Noun Fires destroyed acres of forest. the endless forest that the first European settlers encountered
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
In a clearing in the forest, his younger selves sit at a long table with the abbott, who is wearing the final boss of season three’s awful wigs. Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 20 July 2026 The shaggy bovines of the plains and boreal forests were nearly hunted to extinction in a frenzy of killing that decimated their population. Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 20 July 2026
Verb
States like Florida, Hawaii and Oklahoma aren’t classified by the US government as priority wildfire areas as they’re not heavily forested but the researchers discovered increasing evacuation risks there. Bloomberg, Mercury News, 8 July 2026 Almost two-thirds of Saarland is protected land, and more than one-third is forested. Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 6 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for forest

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin forestis (silva) unenclosed (woodland), from Latin foris outside — more at forum

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1828, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of forest was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Forest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forest. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

Kids Definition

forest

noun
for·​est
ˈfȯr-əst
ˈfär-
: a dense growth of trees and underbrush covering a large area

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