Scenery is the natural landscape you see around you, especially when it's worth noticing. When you drive through mountains and your mom says “look at that beautiful scenery,” she means the whole view: the peaks, forests, valleys, and sky working together like a living painting.

The word often suggests something visually striking or pleasant. A flat highway through empty fields has scenery, but people don't usually comment on it. A winding road through autumn forests with colorful leaves, or a coastal drive with crashing waves and cliffs, that's scenery worth mentioning. When someone takes the scenic route, they're choosing a longer path because the views make the extra time worthwhile.

Scenery also means the painted backgrounds and structures used in theater and movies. When actors perform on stage, the scenery behind them might show a castle, a forest, or a city street. Workers called scenery painters create these backgrounds to help the audience imagine where the story takes place.

The phrase change of scenery means going somewhere different to experience something new. After a long winter indoors, your family might want a change of scenery by visiting the beach or exploring a new town.