forest

Definition

a large area of land covered by trees and other plants growing close together

View the full definition in the Macmillan Dictionary.

Origin and usage

The noun forest came into English in the 13th century from an Old French word ‘forest’. It originally referred to an area of woodland set aside for hunting.

Examples

March 21st is International Day of Forests, a UNESCO-sponsored occasion to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests that has been observed annually since 2012. This year’s theme is Forests and Biodiversity. Forested means covered with trees. A forester is someone whose job is to look after a forest and forestry is the science of caring for forests and what grows in them. Forest management is what it suggests, the skill and process of managing forests. The lovely term forest bathing, meanwhile, refers to the activity of relaxing in forests. The practice originated in Japan, where the power of nature to reduce stress and enhance wellbeing has long been recognized. Both of these terms are entries in our Open Dictionary, one recent, the other from 5 years ago. You can submit words and phrases that you think should be in the dictionary and are not in there already here.