jungle

American  

[juhng-guhl] / ˈdʒʌŋ gəl /

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.

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jungle British  

/ 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

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jungle Idioms  

1. see law of the jungle.

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Other Word Forms

• jungled adjective
• jungly adjective
• underjungle noun

Etymology

Origin of jungle

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

Example Sentences

Guerrilla Arakan Army fighters -- one of the many factions challenging the junta's rule -- control swathes of jungle across the border with Myanmar.

From Barron's

She said the UK and its allies should collectively say "we cannot have breaches of international law like this. We cannot have the law of the jungle."

From BBC

Nor would I want to navigate the urban jungle without the rear steering.

From The Wall Street Journal

But such systems, he said, are difficult to deploy in the jungles and rugged mountains where troops often operate.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We are homeless, hiding in jungles, and living between life and death," said the 40-year-old.

From Barron's

Related Words

• forest
• wasteland
• wood