Word.ws English Dictionary

see the wood for the trees

see the wood 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 wood for the trees

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

Questions about see the wood for the trees

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

Words near see the wood for the trees in the dictionary

  1. see the light of day
  2. see the point
  3. see the same way
  4. see the trees through the forest
  5. see the way clear to
  6. see the wood for the trees
  7. see the woods for the trees
  8. see the world
  9. see things
  10. see through
  11. see through a millstone

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: see the wood 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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