chaparral

noun

chap·​ar·​ral ˌsha-pə-ˈral 

-ˈrel

1

: a thicket of dwarf evergreen oaks

broadly : a dense impenetrable thicket of shrubs or dwarf trees

2

: an ecological community composed of shrubby plants adapted to dry summers and moist winters that occurs especially in southern California

Synonyms

• boscage
• boskage
• bosk
• bosque
• bosquet
• brake
• brushwood
• coppice
• copse
• covert
• thicket

Examples of chaparral in a Sentence

the rabbit darted into the chaparral

Recent Examples on the Web

The crew spread out, and sawyers began to cut the chaparral with their saws. —M. R. O’Connor, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025

Residents of Marin, and the Bay Area at large, are understandably big fans of the diverse natural landscapes of the coast ranges: forests and woodlands, savannas and marshes, ocean coast and chaparral. —Jack Gedney, The Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2025

The combination of environmental regulations protecting chaparral, combined with the dense residential areas near it, mean that prescribed fire is very infrequently used in Southern California. —Ella Nilsen, CNN, 24 Jan. 2025

But amid the chaparral, grasses, and trees, the preferred tools are shovels, axes, drip torches, and bulldozers. —Umair Irfan, Vox, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from chaparro dwarf evergreen oak, from Basque txapar

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing chaparral

• chaparral cock

Kids Definition

chaparral

noun

chap·​ar·​ral ˌshap-ə-ˈral 

-ˈrel

1

: a thicket of dwarf evergreen oaks

also : a dense thicket

2

: an ecological community that is found especially in parts of southern California and is composed of shrubby plants that grow well in dry sunny summers and moist winters