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chaparral

[ shap-uh-ral, chap- ]

/ ˌʃæp əˈræl, ˌtʃæp- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR chaparral ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Southwestern U.S.

a dense growth of shrubs or small trees.

Origin of chaparral

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

Words nearby chaparral

chap stick, chap., chapala, chaparajos, chaparejos, chaparral, chaparral bird, chaparral cock, chaparral lily, chaparral pea, chapati

Example sentences from the Web for chaparral

As we emerged from the chaparral Morgan was but a few yards in advance.

The Best Ghost Stories |Various
When they came to the edge of the chaparral they knelt among the bushes and listened.

The Texan Scouts |Joseph A. Altsheler
Intentionally he had permitted Felicia to keep the lead in the race through the chaparral.

Frank Merriwell's Triumph |Burt L. Standish
The favorite haunts of this lily are high and inaccessible ridges, among the chaparral, or under the live-oak or redwood.

The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits |Mary Elizabeth Parsons

When the chaparral, or dense shrubby growth of our mountain-sides, is composed entirely of Adenostoma, it is called chamisal.

The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits |Mary Elizabeth Parsons

British Dictionary definitions for chaparral

chaparral

/ (ˌtʃæpəˈræl, ˌʃæp-) /

noun

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

Word Origin for chaparral

C19: from Spanish, from chaparra evergreen oak