jungle

[juhng-guh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jungle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a wild land overgrown with dense vegetation, often nearly impenetrable, especially tropical vegetation or a tropical rain forest.

a tract of such land.

a wilderness of dense overgrowth; a piece of swampy, thickset forestland.

any confused mass or agglomeration of objects; jumble: a jungle of wrecked automobiles.

something that baffles or perplexes; maze: a jungle of legal double-talk.

a scene of violence and struggle for survival: The neglected prison was a jungle for its inmates.

a place or situation of ruthless competition: the advertising jungle.

Slang. a hobo camp.

Nearby words

Origin of jungle

1770–80; < Hindi jaṅgal < Pali, Prakrit jaṅgala rough, waterless place

Related formsjun·gled, adjectiveun·der·jun·gle, noun

Jungle, The

noun

a novel (1906) by Upton Sinclair.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jungle

Over the past week, Sony Pictures Entertainment has received more body blows than Muhammad Ali during the Rumble in the Jungle.
Sony: Hollywood’s Most Subversive Studio Under Attack|Marlow Stern|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, visitors are scarce and the jungle is taking over, leaving some locals nostalgic.
Six Must-Read Stories About the Sony Hacks, Congo’s Forgotten Colonial Getaway and Another Woman’s Story of U-VA|The Daily Beast|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A Belgian church has a chalkboard sitting at the pulpit with the jungle peeking through the windows behind it.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bibi was pregnant, and Louise delivered her baby, a boy named Christian, the same day in the jungle.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Certainly I can imagine ways of giving this jungle hero some up-to-date progressive attitudes.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World?|Ted Gioia|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And even after six years of the jungle, he maintained his picturesqueness.
Angel Island|Inez Haynes Gillmore
Perhaps he was anxious to place as much distance as possible between his own person and the terrifying beasts of the jungle.
The Banner Boy Scouts on a Tour|George A. Warren
But of course Mappo's folks were, by this time, a long way off in the jungle woods, wondering where Mappo himself was.
Mappo, the Merry Monkey|Richard Barnum
All the Mission men now are away in the jungle trying to bring back the foolish boys to the village and the Mission.
Gold Out of Celebes|Aylward Edward Dingle
The law of progress and civilization is not the law of the jungle.
Have faith in Massachusetts; 2d ed.|Calvin Coolidge

British Dictionary definitions for jungle

jungle

noun

an equatorial forest area with luxuriant vegetation, often almost impenetrable

any dense or tangled thicket or growth

a place of intense competition or ruthless struggle for survivalthe concrete jungle

a type of fast electronic dance music, originating in the early 1990s, which combines elements of techno and ragga

US slang (esp in the Depression) a gathering place for the unemployed, etc

Derived Formsjungly, adjective

Word Origin for jungle

C18: from Hindi jangal, from Sanskrit jāngala wilderness

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

Word Origin and History for jungle

jungle

1776, from Hindi jangal "desert, forest, wasteland, uncultivated ground," from Sanskrit jangala-s "arid, sparsely grown with trees," of unknown origin. Specific sense of "land overgrown by vegetation in a wild, tangled mass" is first recorded 1849; meaning "place notoriously lawless and violent" is first recorded 1906, from Upton Sinclair's novel (cf. asphalt jungle, 1949, William R. Burnett's novel title, made into a film 1950 by John Huston; blackboard jungle, 1954, Evan Hunter's novel title, movie in 1955). Jungle gym was a trademark name, 1923, by Junglegym Inc., Chicago, U.S. Jungle bunny, derogatory for "black person," attested from 1966.

Idioms and Phrases with jungle

jungle

see law of the jungle.

jungle

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of jungle

Jungle, The

noun

Examples from the Web for jungle

jungle

noun

Word Origin for jungle

jungle

jungle