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
Examples of chaparral in a Sentence
the rabbit darted into the chaparral
Recent Examples on the Web
Southern California is dominated by shrublands known as chaparral.
—
Hannah Singleton, WIRED, 21 Jan. 2025
Phillip, 48, went outside and hiked into the gullies to cut away brush and chaparral until there was nothing flammable left within several hundred feet of the house.
—Eli Saslow, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2025
To make things worse, the drought and high temperatures followed two very wet years that promoted plant growth in the surrounding chaparral and coastal sage scrub, said Glen MacDonald, a professor of geography at University of California Los Angeles.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2025
California's binary wet/dry seasonal cycle means rain in the winter, which feeds the growth of chaparral and sage in the hills and coastal mountains, followed by dry summer heat, which turns that biomass into fuel for wildfires.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for chaparral 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Hannah Singleton, WIRED, 21 Jan. 2025
Phillip, 48, went outside and hiked into the gullies to cut away brush and chaparral until there was nothing flammable left within several hundred feet of the house.
—Eli Saslow, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2025
To make things worse, the drought and high temperatures followed two very wet years that promoted plant growth in the surrounding chaparral and coastal sage scrub, said Glen MacDonald, a professor of geography at University of California Los Angeles.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2025
California's binary wet/dry seasonal cycle means rain in the winter, which feeds the growth of chaparral and sage in the hills and coastal mountains, followed by dry summer heat, which turns that biomass into fuel for wildfires.
—Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for chaparral
Dictionary Entries Near chaparral
Cite this Entry
“Chaparral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaparral. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share