jungle

[ juhng-guhl ]
See synonyms for jungle on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a wild land overgrown with dense vegetation, often nearly impenetrable, especially tropical vegetation or a tropical rainforest.

  2. a tract of such land.

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

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

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

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

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

  6. Slang.

    • (in historical use) a hobo camp: We found him by the campfire, with many similarly raggedy hobos in what is known as a jungle.

    • any camp of unhoused individuals: Law enforcement clears the jungle and tears down the temporary structures a few times each year, but people return and a new encampment always springs up.

Origin of jungle

1
First recorded in 1770–80; from Hindi jaṅgal, from Sanskrit jaṅgala “uncultivated land, dry land, waterless place”

Other words from jungle

  • jun·gled, adjective
  • un·der·jun·gle, noun

Words Nearby jungle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use jungle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for jungle

jungle

/ (ˈdʒʌŋɡəl) /


noun
  1. an equatorial forest area with luxuriant vegetation, often almost impenetrable

  2. any dense or tangled thicket or growth

  1. a place of intense competition or ruthless struggle for survival: the concrete jungle

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

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

Origin of jungle

1
C18: from Hindi jangal, from Sanskrit jāngala wilderness

Derived forms of jungle

  • jungly, adjective

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with jungle

jungle

see law of the jungle.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.