Dictionary

rainforest en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɹeɪn.fɔɹ.ɪst/ (General-American)
• (US) audio
• /ˈɹeɪn.fɒɹ.ɪst/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From rain + forest, a calque of German Regenwald.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A forest in a climate with high annual rainfall and no dry season.
   • 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:
   • 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:
   • 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:
   • Enjoy your visit to the rainforests, because the next time you go there things could be very different. 2014, Nick Hunter, Rainforests, page 38:
   • 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:

Forms

Deriveds

nonrainforest · tropical rainforest · temperate rainforest · rainforestlike · rainforestless · rainforested · rainforestation · rainforest mystic

Synonyms

jungle · tropical forest

Translations (70)

es pluviselva (type of forest) · lt drėgnasis miškas (type of forest) · fr pluvisilve (type of forest) · sv regnskog (type of forest) · ar غَابَة اِسْتِوَائِيَّة (type of forest) · fr forêt pluvieuse (type of forest) · sk dažďový les (type of forest) · mk дождовна шума (type of forest) · de Regenwald (type of forest) · es bosque tropical (type of forest) · ru се́льва (type of forest) · hu esőerdő (type of forest) · mi ngahere pārūrū (type of forest) · nl regenwoud (type of forest) · is regnskógur (type of forest) · lv lietus mežs (type of forest) · cs deštný prales (type of forest) · he יער גשם (type of forest) · eo pluvarbaro (type of forest) · es bosque hidrofítico (type of forest) · da regnskov (type of forest) · nb regnskog (type of forest) · kn ಮಳೆಕಾಡು (type of forest) · fr pluvisylve (type of forest) · cy fforest law (type of forest) · el τροπικό δάσος (type of forest) · ka ჭარბტენიანი ტყე (type of forest) · ja 雨林 (type of forest) · pt floresta ombrófila (type of forest) · fo regnskógur (type of forest) · ro pădure tropicală (type of forest) · nn regnskog (type of forest) · pt floresta húmida (type of forest) · pt floresta pluvial (type of forest) · bg дъждовна гора (type of forest) · ru дождево́й лес (type of forest) · pl las deszczowy (type of forest) · fr forêt pluviale (type of forest) · ka ტროპიკული ტყე (type of forest) · gd coille-uisge (type of forest) · nv hodíłchʼil níłtsánígíí (type of forest) · ja 多雨林 (type of forest) · sl deževni gozd (type of forest) · mi ngāoreore (type of forest) · ca selva pluvial (type of forest) · th ป่าฝน (type of forest) · et vihmamets (type of forest) · kw koswik law (type of forest) · vi rừng mưa (type of forest) · ga foraois bháistí (type of forest) · mn ширэнгэн ой (type of forest) · es foresta pluviosa (type of forest) · fa جنگل بارانی (type of forest) · ms hutan hujan (type of forest) · hi वर्षावन (type of forest) · pih stik (type of forest) · tr yağmur ormanı (type of forest) · nb regnskau (type of forest) · cmn 雨林 (type of forest) · es foresta pluvial (type of forest) · it foresta pluviale (type of forest) · fi sademetsä (type of forest) · se arvevuovdi (type of forest) · pt floresta tropical (type of forest) · sh pràšuma (type of forest) · el βροχοδάσος (type of forest) · th ป่าดิบชื้น (type of forest) · fr forêt tropicale (type of forest) · cs deštný les (type of forest) · uk дощовий ліс (type of forest)