: of, relating to, or being a forest characterized by the presence of large old trees, numerous snags and woody debris, and a multilayered canopy and that is usually in a late stage of ecological succession
old growth noun

Examples of old-growth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The president uncapped his pen, preparing to sign an executive order to protect mature and old-growth forests on federal lands. April Ehrlich, ProPublica, 12 Nov. 2024 So instead, Caldwell, Honnold, and the eight-person National Geographic film crew had to chart a new route in the adjacent valley—an old-growth temperate rainforest. Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 8 Nov. 2024 But if old-growth trees are replaced with new tree plantations, the new trees may never reach the same size as the original trees, some environmental groups argue. Kurt Kleiner, JSTOR Daily, 7 Nov. 2024 The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is Michigan’s largest park at 60,000 acres, half of which is old-growth hardwood hemlock, the largest old-growth forest in the Midwest. John Carlisle, Detroit Free Press, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for old-growth 

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of old-growth was in 1868

Dictionary Entries Near old-growth

Cite this Entry

“Old-growth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/old-growth. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

old-growth

adjective
ˈōl(d)-ˈgrōth
: of, relating to, or being a forest characterized by the presence of large old trees, dead standing trees, and fallen rotting trees and that is usually in a late stage of development
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