chaparral
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of chaparral
1835–45, < Spanish, equivalent to chaparr ( o ) evergreen oak (< Basque tshapar ) + -al collective suffix
Explanation
Chaparral is a type of dense, thorny thicket with shrubby plants and small trees. Places with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters — like parts of California — are most likely to have chaparral. Chaparral is a rugged landscape where hardy plants like scrub oaks and manzanita thrive. This unique ecosystem is found in regions like central and southern California, northern Mexico, and coastal areas around the Mediterranean Sea. Chaparral supports diverse wildlife and has adapted to withstand fires and droughts. With its thick, thorny bushes and resilient inhabitants — like mountain lions, jackrabbits, rattlesnakes, and coyotes — chaparral showcases nature's ability to flourish in challenging environments.
Vocabulary lists containing chaparral
Western Europe - Introductory
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Western Europe - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As the Eaton and Palisades fires roared across the Altadena area and the coastal Santa Monica Mountains in January 2025, the flames were fueled in part by accumulations of bone-dry chaparral, brush and other vegetation.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026
Nearly a dozen fires have, together, consumed more than 26,000 acres of varied terrain in the region over the last week, in remote island chaparral as well as brushy foothills bordering neighborhoods.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
“To restore the natural fire frequency and chaparral habitats,” it states, “Topanga State Park should be left to burn within reasonable public safety limits and outside of fire exclusion zones.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2025
But Alexandra Syphard, a fire ecologist at the Conservation Biology Institute, noted that 50 years is still relatively early in the chaparral fire cycle.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2025
Like cottontail rabbits and chaparral birds and a baby possum that sulked and lay like dead for the first several hours until he finally decided that Arliss wasn’t going to hurt him.
From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
