jungle
- 01 A2 Elementary
a thick, tropical forest where many wild plants and animals live.
a dense, humid tropical forest or rainforest characterized by thick undergrowth.
Simple“The explorers spent three days trekking through the thick jungle to find the ancient temple.”
In context“Conservationists are working to protect the remaining jungle from illegal logging that threatens the habitat of endangered primates.”
UsageOften used with 'the' when referring to the habitat in general.
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a place where people are very competitive and do not follow rules or care about others.
a place or situation characterized by ruthless competition, struggle for survival, or a lack of moral constraints.
Simple“The business world can be a jungle where only the strongest companies survive.”
In context“In the cutthroat world of high-frequency trading, many young professionals find the office environment to be a literal jungle.”
UsageCommonly used in the phrase 'it's a jungle out there'.
Teacher's tipThis is a common metaphor in business or urban life to describe harsh competition.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
a messy or complicated group of things that are hard to separate.
a confused or tangled mass of objects or ideas.
Simple“There was a jungle of computer cables behind his desk that took hours to untangle.”
In context“The garden had become a jungle of weeds and overgrown vines after years of neglect by the previous owners.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
a type of fast electronic dance music with heavy drums and bass.
a style of electronic dance music characterized by very fast breakbeats and heavy basslines, originating in the early 1990s.
Simple“The club played old-school jungle music all night long.”
In context“The producer's early tracks were instrumental in defining the jungle sound before the genre evolved into modern drum and bass.”
UsageUncountable in this sense.
Teacher's tipWhile related to 'drum and bass', jungle is often seen as the earlier, more raw version of the genre.
Synonyms
Borrowed from Hindustani جَن٘گَل (jaṅgal) / जंगल (jaṅgal), from Sanskrit जङ्गल (jaṅgala, “arid, sterile, desert”). First appears c. 1776 in a translation by Nathaniel Halhed.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.