underbrush

noun

un·​der·​brush ˈən-dər-ˌbrəsh 

1

: shrubs, bushes, or small trees growing beneath large trees in a wood or forest : brush

2

: a tangled, obstructing, or impeding mass

Examples of underbrush in a Sentence

We made our way through the thick underbrush.

Recent Examples on the Web

On the left, to the east, four thousand mercenaries plodded through the underbrush. —/ Cbs News, CBS News, 13 June 2025

Soil and underbrush would obscure once-gleaming granite fountains. —Sarah Durn, Popular Science, 5 June 2025

And the durable, water-repellent, quick-dry fabric has thus far shrugged off light snowfall, summer squalls, poison ivy, and even thorny underbrush. —The Editors, Outside Online, 30 May 2025

Without regular, low-intensity fires clearing a mature forest’s underbrush, where shade-tolerant balsam firs thrive, the tree species can build up. —Jimmy Lovrien, Twin Cities, 23 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for underbrush

• airbrush
• hairbrush
• inrush
• onrush
• paintbrush
• sagebrush
• blush
• brush
• crush
• flush
• gush
• hush

Kids Definition

underbrush

noun

un·​der·​brush ˈən-dər-ˌbrəsh 

: shrubs and small trees growing among large trees : undergrowth