forest

1 of 2

noun

for·​est ˈfȯr-əst 

ˈfär-

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

ˈfȯr-ə-stᵊl 

ˈfär-

adjective

or forestial

fə-ˈre-stē-əl 

fȯ-,

-ˈres-chəl,

-ˈresh-

forested

ˈfȯr-ə-stəd 

ˈfär-

adjective

forest

2 of 2

verb

forested; foresting; forests

transitive verb

: to cover with trees or forest

land densely forested with firs

forestation

ˌfȯr-ə-ˈstā-shən 

ˌfär-

noun

Synonyms

Noun

• forestland
• timber
• timberland
• wood(s)
• woodland

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

Noun

Like a tree falling in the forest with no one to hear it, even groundbreaking marketing wins mean little if no one notices. —Cheryl Ragland, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025

At the Glen Oaks Resort Adobe Motor Lodge in Big Sur, the rooms huddle at the edge of a thick forest. —Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025

Verb

In his travels around America, Tocqueville noted that Cleveland was a city — a real city — heavily forested. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 Apr. 2025

Satellite surveys from a few years ago showed that the kelp forests off of Northern California have shrunk by 95 percent. —Byrd Pinkerton, Vox, 1 Apr. 2025

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

Phrases Containing forest

• cloud forest
• forest floor
• forest green
• forest ranger
• forest tent caterpillar
• gallery forest
• miss the forest for the trees
• national forest
• not see the forest for the trees
• rain forest
• temperate rain forest
• tropical rain forest

Rhymes for forest

• chorused
• sorest
• aorist
• deforest
• folklorist
• rainforest

Kids Definition

forest

noun

for·​est

ˈfȯr-əst,

ˈfär-

: a dense growth of trees and underbrush covering a large area