a wild land overgrown with dense vegetation, often nearly impenetrable, especially tropical vegetation or a tropical rainforest.
a tract of such land.
a wilderness of dense overgrowth; a piece of swampy, thickset forestland.
any confused mass or agglomeration of objects; jumble: a jungle of wrecked automobiles.
something that baffles or perplexes; maze: a jungle of legal double-talk.
a scene of violence and struggle for survival: The neglected prison was a jungle for its inmates.
a place or situation of ruthless competition: the advertising jungle.
Slang. a homeless or hobo camp: 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.
Origin of jungle
First recorded in 1770–80; from Hindi jaṅgal, from Sanskrit jaṅgala “uncultivated land, dry land, waterless place”
From the savannas of Kenya to the jungles of Borneo, this app reimagines natural-history storytelling and conservation filmmaking by bringing them into your living room — or whatever room you choose.
Listen to Africa’s Singing Giants|Joshua Eferighe|October 2, 2020|Ozy
I continued to see him when he entered sixth grade, and on days when I picked him up he was typically tearing around the jungle gym with friends, with an unself-consciousness that, together with his slight frame, made him seem younger than 12.
The Students Left Behind by Remote Learning|by Alec MacGillis|September 28, 2020|ProPublica
The journey begins in the Amazon inside the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, a 2,330-square-mile swath of primordial jungle teeming with ten monkey species, tapirs, and pink dolphins.
The sun’s wispy upper atmosphere, called the corona, is an ever-changing jungle of sizzling plasma.
Check out the first-ever map of the solar corona’s magnetic field|Lisa Grossman|August 21, 2020|Science News
Over the past week, Sony Pictures Entertainment has received more body blows than Muhammad Ali during the Rumble in the Jungle.
Sony: Hollywood’s Most Subversive Studio Under Attack|Marlow Stern|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, visitors are scarce and the jungle is taking over, leaving some locals nostalgic.
Six Must-Read Stories About the Sony Hacks, Congo’s Forgotten Colonial Getaway and Another Woman’s Story of U-VA|The Daily Beast|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A Belgian church has a chalkboard sitting at the pulpit with the jungle peeking through the windows behind it.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bibi was pregnant, and Louise delivered her baby, a boy named Christian, the same day in the jungle.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Certainly I can imagine ways of giving this jungle hero some up-to-date progressive attitudes.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World?|Ted Gioia|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And even after six years of the jungle, he maintained his picturesqueness.
Angel Island|Inez Haynes Gillmore
Perhaps he was anxious to place as much distance as possible between his own person and the terrifying beasts of the jungle.
The Banner Boy Scouts on a Tour|George A. Warren
But of course Mappo's folks were, by this time, a long way off in the jungle woods, wondering where Mappo himself was.
Mappo, the Merry Monkey|Richard Barnum
All the Mission men now are away in the jungle trying to bring back the foolish boys to the village and the Mission.
Gold Out of Celebes|Aylward Edward Dingle
The law of progress and civilization is not the law of the jungle.
Have faith in Massachusetts; 2d ed.|Calvin Coolidge
British Dictionary definitions for jungle
jungle
/ (ˈdʒʌŋɡəl) /
noun
an equatorial forest area with luxuriant vegetation, often almost impenetrable
any dense or tangled thicket or growth
a place of intense competition or ruthless struggle for survivalthe concrete jungle
a type of fast electronic dance music, originating in the early 1990s, which combines elements of techno and ragga
USslang(esp in the Depression) a gathering place for the unemployed, etc
Derived forms of jungle
jungly, adjective
Word Origin for jungle
C18: from Hindi jangal, from Sanskrit jāngala wilderness
English Words That Came From Hindi And UrduIf you're reading this in your pajamas, you have the Hindi and Urdu languages to thank for that word, and for many more than you realize.