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Synonyms

chaparral

American  
[shap-uh-ral, chap-] / ˌʃæp əˈræl, ˌtʃæp- /

noun

Southwestern U.S.

  1. a dense growth of shrubs or small trees.

chaparral British  
/ ˌtʃæpəˈræl, ˌʃæp- /

noun

  1. (in the southwestern US) a dense growth of shrubs and trees, esp evergreen oaks

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Yes, some of the green was invasive species, but some was made up of native grasses and shrubby chaparral plants.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 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

Most chaparral plants are adapted to this fire cycle.

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

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.