rainforest

or rain for·est

[ reyn-fawr-ist, ‐-for‐ ]

noun

1. a tropical forest, usually of tall, densely growing, broad-leaved evergreen trees in an area of high annual rainfall.

rainforest

/ ˈreɪnˌfɒrɪst /

noun

1. dense forest found in tropical areas of heavy rainfall. The trees are broad-leaved and evergreen, and the vegetation tends to grow in three layers (undergrowth, intermediate trees and shrubs, and very tall trees, which form a canopy) Also calledselva

rainforest

/ rān′fôr′ĭst /

1. A dense evergreen forest with an annual rainfall of at least 406 cm (160 inches).

Word History and Origins

Origin of rainforest¹

First recorded in 1900–05

A Closer Look

Most of the world's rainforests lie near the equator and have tropical climates. However, cooler rainforests exist in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and Canada. The world's largest rainforest is located in the Amazon River basin. The Amazon rainforest has been described as the “lungs of our planet” because it continuously recycles carbon dioxide into oxygen, with a significant percentage of the world's atmospheric oxygen being produced in this region. Besides helping to regulate the world's climate, rainforests host an extraordinary diversity of life. Scientists believe that as many as half of the Earth's different species of plants and animals are found only in the rainforests, which take up a mere 7 percent of the world's landmass. By some estimates, more than half of the Earth's original rainforests have already been burned or cut down for timber or grazing land, and more than 130 plant, animal, and insect species are thought to be going extinct daily as a result of the lost habitat. Currently 25 percent of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from tropical rainforest ingredients, and 70 percent of the plants with anticancer properties are found only in this shrinking biome.

Example Sentences

Leroi believes it should continue to expand its influence “until it becomes an integral part of explaining diversity wherever we see it in the world, be it in the supermarket or a tropical rainforest.”

From Quanta Magazine

Young trees have adaptations that could save the AmazonThe famously humid Amazon is likely to face increasing droughts as the planet warms, but the teenagers of the rainforest may be coming to its rescue.

From Popular-Science

As a chocolate maker, I knew Georgetown to be just west of cacao-rich rainforest.

From Eater

Swim or paddle in the Big Island’s Hilo Bay, hike rainforest trails along the northeastern Hamakua Coast, or surf at Honolii Beach Park.

From Outside Online

Reducing its footprint is the best thing we can do to help the rainforest.

From Nautilus

He could be remade into a defender of the environment, a preserver of habitats and champion of rainforest ecology.

From The Daily Beast

One of their more memorable ones supported the Rainforest Action Network in 1988 at Madison Square Garden.

From The Daily Beast

This little slice of anarchy is a 24-hour bus ride from Panama City, with plenty of rainforest-y scenery along the way.

From The Daily Beast

To make room for these plantations, vast areas of rainforest are felled, which leads to primary and secondary loss of species.

From The Daily Beast

The anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss saw the Amazon rainforest, as he saw most things, as a complex structure.

From The Daily Beast

In the dry season the river was clear; it is surrounded by rainforest.

From Project Gutenberg

Specimens were obtained in rainforest in the immediate vicinity of the settlement.

From Project Gutenberg

Specimens were obtained in the rainforest and in cleared areas in the immediate vicinity of the town.

From Project Gutenberg

Obviously, the diversity of ecological niches in the rainforest is sufficient to support a variety of related species.

From Project Gutenberg

From the examples discussed above, the importance of the three dimensional aspect of the rainforest is apparent.

From Project Gutenberg