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 of chaparral

• grove
• forest
• bush
• thicket
• brushwood
• copse
• coppice
• brake
• jungle

Examples of chaparral in a Sentence

the rabbit darted into the chaparral

Recent Examples on the Web

The project was on the side of a scrubby hill that looked nothing like the steep timber and chaparral where California’s destructive fires burn and the insurance market has fled. — Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026

Stepping on stems is attention-getting, but the result is a wine that echoes the chaparral of the hillsides surrounding the vineyard. — Laura Ness, Mercury News, 5 July 2026

An adventure among the mustangs, the chaparrals, the arroyos, the wide purple this and that. — Padgett Powell, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026

Highlights include a pink-flowering chaparral mallow, rarely seen in gardens, a white sage valued by Native Americans and the buckwheat Sterman found in San Miguel Island, plus several new oaks. — Nicole Sours Larson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2026

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

Rhymes for chaparral

• ileal
• nonformal
• perceval
• rationale
• supernal
• urinal
• artisanal
• bal
• dal
• gal
• mal
• pal

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