jungle

[juhng-guhl]

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.

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

4. any confused mass or agglomeration of objects; jumble.

   a jungle of wrecked automobiles.

5. something that baffles or perplexes; maze.

   a jungle of legal double-talk.

6. a scene of violence and struggle for survival.

   The neglected prison was a jungle for its inmates.

7. a place or situation of ruthless competition.

   the advertising jungle.

8. Slang.

   1. (in historical use) a hobo camp.

      We found him by the campfire, with many similarly raggedy hobos in what is known as a jungle.

   2. 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.

jungle

/ ˈdʒʌŋɡəl /

noun

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

2. any dense or tangled thicket or growth

3. a place of intense competition or ruthless struggle for survival

   the concrete jungle

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

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

Other Word Forms

• jungled adjective
• underjungle noun
• jungly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of jungle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of jungle¹

C18: from Hindi jangal, from Sanskrit jāngala wilderness

Idioms and Phrases

see law of the jungle.

Example Sentences

“It looks more like a jungle than a school. Why has no one cut down this greenery?”

Read more on Literature

Alexander dangled from the musket as if it were part of a jungle gym, while Beowulf was perched on the man’s head, wrestling vigorously with the hat.

Read more on Literature

Honduras, with its many jungle landing-strips used for drug trafficking, is next on the menu.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But a few years ago, Ant and Dec suggested the ITV show should take a break from putting politicians in the jungle.

Read more on BBC

The 1987 movie features Schwarzenegger’s Dutch leading a multiracial band of bros on a black ops mission to eliminate guerrillas in a Central American jungle, only to be butchered by an invisible stalker from space.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• forest 
• wasteland 
• wood