rainforest

noun

rain·​for·​est ˈrān-ˌfȯr-əst 

-ˌfär-

variants or less commonly rain forest

plural rainforests also rain forests

1

: a tropical woodland with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches (254 centimeters) and marked by lofty broad-leaved evergreen trees forming a continuous canopy

called also tropical rainforest

2

: temperate rainforest

Examples of rainforest in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her travel writing has taken her to rainforests, remote tropical islands, and the red carpets of Cannes. —Felicity Carter, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025

Nearly 90 percent of this Colorado-size country, wedged between Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of the Congo on the continent’s Atlantic coast, is cloaked in rainforest. —Chris Schalkx, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2025

There’s something magical about hiking through lush rainforest, filled with sloths, squirrel monkeys, and iguana, and emerging onto golden shores fronting the Pacific. —Jen Murphy, Outside Online, 14 Mar. 2025

The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens have two campuses—one that highlights rainforest, desert, native Florida, and display gardens that meander along a mangrove by the bay. —Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2025

About 460,000 people visited the Hoh area of Olympic National Park last year, according to the National Park Service. State of play: Heavy rains in December washed out part of the Upper Hoh Road, the only way to access the rainforest's trailheads, campgrounds and visitor center by car. —Melissa Santos, Axios, 5 Mar. 2025

That’s nearly 10 times longer than previous evidence for African rainforest occupation, and more than twice as long as the next most recent human rainforest habitat globally, found in Southeast Asia. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 26 Feb. 2025

Millions of acres of peatlands and rainforest burned. —Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Mar. 2025

That was still bleak in comparison to rainforests or meadows; microbes living there covered up to 28.37 percent of the tree of life. —Ars Technica, 2 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing rainforest

• temperate rainforest
• tropical rainforest

Rhymes for rainforest

• aorist
• deforest
• folklorist
• chorused
• forest
• sorest

Kids Definition

rain forest

noun

1

: an often tropical woodland with a high annual rainfall and very tall evergreen trees with tops forming a continuous layer

called also tropical rain forest

2

: temperate rain forest