jungle

American  

[juhng-guhl] / ˈdʒʌŋ gəl /

noun

• jungles
  plural

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 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

---

jungle Idioms  

1. see law of the jungle.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underjungle
  noun
• jungled
  adjective
• jungly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• jungles
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of jungle

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

---

Explanation

A jungle is a forest thick with trees, other plants, and animals. Jungles are a little dangerous, which is what people mean when they say, "It's a jungle out there!" Jungles — thick tropical forests — are full of life: birds, insects, reptiles, monkeys, and often gorillas and other animals. They're dangerous places, even for the animals that live there. This is why jungle also means any place that is risky or wild. If someone does something a dishonest or shady to get their way, some people will say that's "The law of the jungle," meaning you have to do some shifty things to survive.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jungle jungles

For companies lost in the jungle of artificial intelligence and surrounded by pilots that never made it to production, the forward-deployed engineer carries a special cachet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

She said DJ Die and DJ Krust were direct influences on her high-tempo music, which includes a blend of footwork, jungle and drum and bass.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

It’s a sound that’s transformed her from a sweatah-weathah-loving Bronx matron to a “cool mom” in a jungle of vicious teens to the most dedicated woman in Indiana local government.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

They demonstrated their hunting prowess which involves trapping animals in netting set up around the jungle.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

Beyond the glass structure stretched a vast misty jungle.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

After years in service and living in hobo jungles, Adam returns home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

For those whose husbands fought for the British in the jungles of places like Malaya and Borneo in the1950s and 60s time is now running out.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025

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

From Barron's ● Dec. 27, 2025

I had the great luck one summer of studying the three-toed sloth in situ in the equatorial jungles of Brazil.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• forest
• wasteland
• wood

---