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definitions

jungle

[juhng-guh l]
See more synonyms for jungle on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a wild land overgrown with dense vegetation, often nearly impenetrable, especially tropical vegetation or a tropical rain forest.
  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. a hobo camp.

Origin of jungle

1770–80; < Hindi jaṅgal < Pali, Prakrit jaṅgala rough, waterless place
Related formsjun·gled, adjectiveun·der·jun·gle, noun

Jungle, The

noun
  1. a novel (1906) by Upton Sinclair.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for jungle

wasteland, wood, forest, web, undergrowth, labyrinth, zoo, bush, maze, tangle, morass, chaparral, boscage

Examples from the Web for jungle

Contemporary Examples of jungle

Historical Examples of jungle

  • The day was sultry, and the heat, even in the dense shade of the jungle, oppressive.

    The Monster Men

    Edgar Rice Burroughs

  • "Number One has escaped into the jungle, Professor," he said.

    The Monster Men

    Edgar Rice Burroughs

  • And you have watched over me alone in the jungle for two days?

    The Monster Men

    Edgar Rice Burroughs

  • "I'd like to know how I'm going to get back through this jungle after dark," Charlie said.

    Pee-wee Harris

    Percy Keese Fitzhugh

  • There was a thicket of holly and underwood, as dense as a jungle, close about the door.

British Dictionary definitions for jungle

jungle

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 survivalthe concrete jungle
  4. a type of fast electronic dance music, originating in the early 1990s, which combines elements of techno and ragga
  5. 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
n.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.