jungle
n. C / Un. a thick, tropical forest where many trees and plants grow close together. It is usually very hot and home to many wild animals.
n. an area of land overgrown with dense forest and tangled vegetation, typically in tropical regions. Often used metaphorically to describe a place of intense struggle or confusion.
Many colorful birds live deep in the jungle.
The explorers spent three days hacking through the thick jungle to reach the ancient ruins.
The city's financial district is often described as a concrete jungle where only the most aggressive and adaptable firms manage to survive.
Borrowed from Hindustani جَن٘گَل (jaṅgal) / जंगल (jaṅgal), from Sanskrit जङ्गल (jaṅgala, “arid, sterile, desert”). First appears c. 1776 in a translation by Nathaniel Halhed.
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asphalt jungle
A city or urban area, where the landscape is covered by pavement and the environment is alienating and unsafe.
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concrete jungle
An urban or other populated area containing a high density of buildings constructed of concrete or similar materials, especially one which lacks greenery and which seems unattractive, harsh, or unsafe.
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jungle telegraph
A system used by primitive cultures in remote tropical regions for communication over long distances, such as drum sounds or a relay of runners.