chaparral

[ shap-uh-ral, chap- ]

noun

, Southwestern U.S.

1. a dense growth of shrubs or small trees.

chaparral

/ ˌtʃæpəˈræl; ˌʃæp- /

noun

1. (in the southwestern US) a dense growth of shrubs and trees, esp evergreen oaks

Word History and Origins

Origin of chaparral¹

1835–45, Americanism; < Spanish, equivalent to chaparr ( o ) evergreen oak (< Basque tshapar ) + -al collective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of chaparral¹

C19: from Spanish, from chaparra evergreen oak

Example Sentences

One afternoon shortly after the vote, members of the splinter group gathered outside of San Francisco, hiking through the chaparrals of the San Bruno hills, and plotted what to do next.

From Salon

Camarillo sits in a chaparral ecosystem — one dominated by dry fire-loving brush that, as a natural part of the ecosystem’s life cycle, routinely burns.

From Los Angeles Times

Hike back down the Beach Trail from the visitors center through chaparral and sandy bluffs to the shore at Flat Rock, where rain has eroded deep arroyos into the 300-foot sandstone escarpments.

From Los Angeles Times

The seeds of some chaparral plants need to be treated with heat or liquid smoke to simulate the fire conditions that would naturally trigger germination.

From Los Angeles Times

The so-called nature-based solutions will span natural and working lands such as forests, farms, grasslands, chaparral, deserts and other types of ecosystems and urban environments.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• forest
• wasteland
• wood