rainforest
nounUK /ˈɹeɪn.fɒɹ.ɪst/ · US /ˈɹeɪn.fɔɹ.ɪst/
Etymology From rain + forest, a calque of German Regenwald.
1
A forest in a climate with high annual rainfall and no dry season.
- Perhaps the most impressive expression of species diversity is the density of species found in a given area of rainforest.2002, Chris C. Park, Tropical Rainforests, page 27:
- Tropical rainforests in Australia have suffered a fate similar in many ways to that of rainforests elsewhere in the world, but considerable progress in safeguarding the future of what remains has been made.2004, Nigel E. Stork, “24: The Theory and Practice of Planning for Long-Term Conservation of Biodiversity of Wet Tropics Rainforests in Australia”, in Eldredge Bermingham, Christopher W. Dick, Craig Moritz, editors, Tropical Rainforests: Past, Present, and Future, page 508:
3 more examples
- Enjoy your visit to the rainforests, because the next time you go there things could be very different.2014, Nick Hunter, Rainforests, page 38:
- Some researchers worry that rainforests will soon reach a tipping point — a point of no return in which the once-lush forests transition to arid regions.2021 June 22, Sam Romano, “Rainforests are under siege. Here’s what you should know.”, in CNN:
- The Sentinelese hunt in the rainforest and fish in the coastal waters using spears, bows and arrows, as well as homemade narrow outrigger canoes, according to Survival International.2025 April 4, Lex Harvey and Esha Mitra, “US tourist arrested after allegedly attempting to contact ‘world’s most isolated’ tribe”, in CNN:
- Synonyms
- jungle, tropical forest
- Derived terms
- nonrainforest, rainforestation, rainforested, rainforestless, rainforestlike, rainforest mystic, temperate rainforest, tropical rainforest