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
Examples of chaparral in a Sentence
the rabbit darted into the chaparral
Recent Examples on the Web
It's often found in urban and suburban areas, as well as desert and chaparral habitats throughout Arizona.
—
The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
The goals of the seed-planting effort include stabilizing the wet sediment, preventing nonnative weeds from taking hold, and accelerating the regrowth of grasslands, chaparral and forests.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Rick Halsey of the California Chaparral Institute will discuss the habitats, such as oak woodland, grasslands, riparian and chaparral.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024
Put me on the 761 Sylmar bypassing the 405, taking Sepulveda instead, threading underneath the freeway and coming up into the craggy foothills of Bel-Air, the bushy chaparral harking back to the ecology of the land before the city.
—Mark Gozonsky, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024
The Santa Ana winds, a Didion favorite, were more regular; their 100-miles-per-hour gusts whipsawed through the landscape, facing few obstacles in the largely treeless chaparral.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2024
In the open space between the living areas and animal pastures, there is a meadow planted solely in a mixture of native grasses and chaparral shrubs.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 28 Dec. 2023
Maneuvering his green pickup truck atop a ridgeline on a recent morning, Pastor Lopez, 74, stepped on the brakes as a deer sprinted across the road before disappearing into a canyon covered in dry chaparral.
—Soumya Karlamangla Sinna Nasseri, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2023
But as in much of the county, the same chaparral and grassland that makes for picturesque panoramas is extremely flammable during fire season, which, due to climate change, is becoming longer and more explosive.
—Gabriel San Román, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2023
The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
The goals of the seed-planting effort include stabilizing the wet sediment, preventing nonnative weeds from taking hold, and accelerating the regrowth of grasslands, chaparral and forests.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024
Rick Halsey of the California Chaparral Institute will discuss the habitats, such as oak woodland, grasslands, riparian and chaparral.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024
Put me on the 761 Sylmar bypassing the 405, taking Sepulveda instead, threading underneath the freeway and coming up into the craggy foothills of Bel-Air, the bushy chaparral harking back to the ecology of the land before the city.
—Mark Gozonsky, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024
The Santa Ana winds, a Didion favorite, were more regular; their 100-miles-per-hour gusts whipsawed through the landscape, facing few obstacles in the largely treeless chaparral.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2024
In the open space between the living areas and animal pastures, there is a meadow planted solely in a mixture of native grasses and chaparral shrubs.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 28 Dec. 2023
Maneuvering his green pickup truck atop a ridgeline on a recent morning, Pastor Lopez, 74, stepped on the brakes as a deer sprinted across the road before disappearing into a canyon covered in dry chaparral.
—Soumya Karlamangla Sinna Nasseri, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2023
But as in much of the county, the same chaparral and grassland that makes for picturesque panoramas is extremely flammable during fire season, which, due to climate change, is becoming longer and more explosive.
—Gabriel San Román, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chaparral.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near chaparral
Cite this Entry
“Chaparral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaparral. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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