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Glite Dictionary
overcutting

overcutting

1 7.7
Taking more trees or rock than allowed, causing harm to the land
  • noun
  • /ˈoʊvərˌkʌtɪŋ/
  • Specialized
: sobrecorte
  • After years of overcutting, the forest is struggling to recover its biodiversity.
  • overcutting of forests

Examples

  • The overcutting of trees in the region has led to significant environmental damage.

  • Environmentalists are concerned about the overcutting of forests that threatens local wildlife.

  • The threat to jobs in the Pacific Northwest, for example, stems from sawmill modernization, the export of wood processing to Japan, and long-term overcutting of forests.

    Academic text (1992)

Antonyms

conservation
145 3.5

Protecting and carefully managing nature and natural resources

How Excessive

to clearcut
  • US
1 5.6
overcutting
  • Specialized
1 7.7
trimming
3 2.3

Surface Forms

overcutting singular
overcuttings plural

Morphology

overcutting = overcut (transparent) = over + cut + ing

Formed from the verb 'overcut' with the gerundive '-ing'; the meaning 'act of cutting too much' follows directly from the components.

Etymology

Overcutting joins over- meaning 'too much' and cutting from 'to cut', so it literally means 'cutting too much'. That's why in forests or mines overcutting means taking more trees or rock than is allowed, which can damage the land and wildlife.