chaparral
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of chaparral
1835–45, < Spanish, equivalent to chaparr ( o ) evergreen oak (< Basque tshapar ) + -al collective suffix
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.
Because chaparral does not pose a notably greater fire risk as it ages, letting the park burn would not accomplish any significant ecological or wildfire risk reduction goals, she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2025
“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
According to the ATF special agent, a firebrand became lodged within dense chaparral and then smoldered and burned within the roots of the vegetation.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 26, 2025
Left alone, chaparral typically burns every 30 to 130 years, historically due to lightning strikes.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2025
Bright emerald grass contrasts with the brown chaparral that hovers above it.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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.
