law of the jungle

American  

noun

1. a system or mode of action in which the strongest survive, presumably as animals in nature or as human beings whose activity is not regulated by the laws or ethics of civilization.

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law of the jungle British  

noun

1. a state of ruthless competition or self-interest

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law of the jungle Idioms  

1. Survival of the strongest, as in The recent price war among airlines was governed by the law of the jungle. This term, alluding to the jungle as a place devoid of ethics where brutality and self-interest reign, was first used by Rudyard Kipling in The Jungle Book (1894).

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Etymology

Origin of law of the jungle

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

law of the jungle

That leads to the breakdown of civilization, a state where only the law of the jungle remains.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026

"There is no place for this type of conduct, retribution or the law of the jungle."

From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2024

“Why get upset by his venality, when the law of the jungle rules?”

From Washington Post ● Jul. 13, 2018

Accepting the legitimacy of the army takeover was tantamount to accepting the "law of the jungle", he said.

From Reuters ● Jul. 6, 2013

The Mosaic code has superseded the law of the jungle.

From Ulysses by James Joyce