Word.ws English Dictionary

see the forest but for the trees

see the forest but for the trees is the alternative form of see the forest for the trees.

Meaning of see the forest for the trees

Verb

see the forest for the trees (third-person singular simple present sees the forest for the trees, present participle seeing the forest for the trees, simple past saw the forest for the trees, past participle seen the forest for the trees)

  1. (idiomatic) To discern an overall pattern from a mass of detail; to see the big picture, or the broader, more general situation.
    • Smith is good at detail, but can't see the forest for the trees.

Forms of see the forest but for the trees

third-person singular presentsees the forest but for the trees
present participleseeing the forest but for the trees
pastsaw the forest but for the trees
past participleseen the forest but for the trees

Questions about see the forest but for the trees

What is see the forest but for the trees the alternative form of?
See the forest but for the trees is the alternative form of see the forest for the trees.

Words near see the forest but for the trees in the dictionary

  1. see the back of
  2. see the dark side of the moon
  3. see the day
  4. see the elephant
  5. see the error of one's ways
  6. see the forest but for the trees
  7. see the forest for the trees
  8. see the forest through the trees
  9. see the glass half-empty
  10. see the glass half-full
  11. see the last of

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: see the forest but for the trees (page history and authors); see the forest for the trees (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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