a large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush; woodland.
the trees on such a tract: to cut down a forest.
a tract of wooded grounds in England formerly belonging to the sovereign and set apart for game.
a thick cluster of vertical objects: a forest of church spires.
verb (used with object)
to supply or cover with trees; convert into a forest.
Origin of forest
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin forestis (silva) “an unenclosed wood” (as opposed to a park), derivative of Latin forīs “outside.” Cf. foreign
synonym study for forest
1. Forest,grove,wood refer to an area covered with trees. A forest is an extensive area, preserving some or all of its primitive wildness and usually having game or wild animals in it: Sherwood Forest; the Black Forest. A grove is a group or cluster of trees, usually not very large in area and cleared of underbrush. It is usually tended or cultivated: a shady grove; a grove of pines; an orange grove; a walnut grove.Woods (or a wood ) resembles a forest but is a smaller tract of land, less wild in character, and generally closer to civilization: lost in the woods; a wood covering several acres.
During the country’s dry season in 2019, nearly 4 million acres of peatland and tropical forest were burned.
What wildfires in Brazil, Siberia, and the US West have in common|Lili Pike|September 17, 2020|Vox
It can also mean using saws and machines to cut and thin the forests.
Suppressing fires has failed. Here’s what California needs to do instead.|James Temple|September 17, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Then, over the past few decades, the forests of Sarawak faced threats unlike any before.
The Environmental Headache in Your Shampoo - Issue 90: Something Green|Anastasia Bendebury & Michael Shilo DeLay|September 16, 2020|Nautilus
Severe wildfires across the American West may already be altering the future of forests there.
Severe wildfires in the West may already be altering the future of forests|Alison Snyder|September 10, 2020|Axios
Once it’s in wild boar in the forests there, it can be very difficult to control.
Europe is on high alert after a deadly swine virus emerges in Germany|Bernhard Warner|September 10, 2020|Fortune
He first rose to prominence as a lawyer in Queens, who settled a boiling racial dispute over public housing in Forest Hills.
Mario Cuomo: An OK Governor, but a Far Better Person|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“It fundamentally changes the architecture of forest canopies,” says Watson.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants|Helen Thompson|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The birds poop all over the forest, and thanks to the viscin, the mistletoe seeds in said poop stick to branches.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants|Helen Thompson|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, most of the suffering species ate insects on the forest floor.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants|Helen Thompson|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From the looks of it, mistletoe is a keystone species and plays a crucial role in that forest ecosystem.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants|Helen Thompson|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You may kill one—two—ten; yes, as many as the leaves in the forest yonder, and their brothers will not miss them.
The Feast of the Virgins and Other Poems|H. L. Gordon
They are the true children of the forest and the wilderness.
A Little Girl in Old Detroit|Amanda Minnie Douglas
The two women would sally forth by the postern door, and make for the forest.
The Lost Treasure of Trevlyn|Evelyn Everett-Green
The women are supposed to have a very easy time in the forest, whereas the men have hard work.
The Life and Times of Kateri Tekakwitha|Ellen H. Walworth
A man of seventy and a boy of fourteen were running for the forest.
The Scouts of the Valley|Joseph A. Altsheler
British Dictionary definitions for forest
forest
/ (ˈfɒrɪst) /
noun
a large wooded area having a thick growth of trees and plants
the trees of such an area
NZan area planted with exotic pines or similar treesCompare bush 1 (def. 4)
something resembling a large wooded area, esp in densitya forest of telegraph poles
law(formerly) an area of woodland, esp one owned by the sovereign and set apart as a hunting ground with its own laws and officersCompare park (def. 5)
(modifier)of, involving, or living in a forest or forestsa forest glade