rainforest

rainforest — noun

1. a dense, warm forest found in tropical regions with very heavy rainfall througho

1.nounB1
Definition

a dense, warm forest found in tropical regions with very heavy rainfall throughout the year, supporting an extremely wide variety of plants and animals

Example

Ravindra studied how the rainforest canopy captures sunlight for the taller trees.

countable: 'the rainforest' refers to a specific forest

Deforestation threatens the Amazon rainforest, which is home to thousands of animal species.

collocation: deforestation threatens [the] rainforest

Common collocations
  • tropical rainforest
  • Amazon rainforest
  • rainforest canopy
  • rainforest destruction
  • dense rainforest
  • protect the rainforest
  • rainforest conservation
Synonyms
  • tropical forest

    broader term — includes rainforests and other forests in warm regions with less rainfall

  • jungle

    focuses on the dense, tangled undergrowth layer; less precise as an ecosystem label and often used more loosely

  • woodland

    too general — any land covered with trees, not specific to tropical high-rainfall areas

Antonyms
  • desert

    receives very little rainfall, the opposite of a rainforest in precipitation terms

Usage Note

Countable when referring to a specific forest (e.g., the Daintree Rainforest); uncountable when referring to the ecosystem type in general (e.g., Rainforest covers large areas of the basin).

Common Mistakes

We went hiking in the jungle rainforest.
We went hiking in the rainforest.
'Jungle' and 'rainforest' refer to different features: a rainforest is a type of forest ecosystem, while a jungle is a very dense area of vegetation often found inside a rainforest.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Rainforest, jungle, tropical forest, and woodland all refer to tree-covered land, but they differ in climate and structure. A rainforest is defined by very high annual rainfall, a closed canopy, and exceptional biodiversity — it is a precise ecological term. 'Jungle' is less scientific; it describes the dense, often impassable undergrowth layer found in some rainforests and other wet areas, and is frequently used in a looser, more vivid way ('the concrete jungle'). 'Tropical forest' is a broader category that includes rainforests as well as drier seasonal forests. 'Woodland' is the most general term, covering any area with trees, from sparse dry woodlands to dense groves, and does not imply tropical climate or heavy rain. For school geography or biology reports, 'rainforest' is the accurate choice when discussing the Amazon, Congo, or Southeast Asian forest ecosystems.

rainforest ↗jungle ↗tropical forestwoodland ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • tropical rainforest
  • temperate rainforest
  • rainforest ecosystem

Prepositions

  • in the rainforest
  • through the rainforest
  • deep inside the rainforest

Etymology

GermanOld EnglishOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'rainforest' is a compound of 'rain' (from Old English regn) and 'forest' (from Old French forest, meaning a large wooded area). It was first used in the early 20th century as a calque of the German 'Regenwald', coined by the botanist Andreas Schimper in 1898 to describe tropical forests with exceptionally high rainfall.