jungle

Everyday

1. A thick, warm, wet forest in a hot country, full of trees, plants and animals. tree →
2. A place that is wild, messy or hard to get through (the garden is a jungle). tree →
3. A place where people compete hard and roughly (it's a jungle out there). tree →

In the lessons

In geography and science: jungles and rainforests grow near the equator; tigers, monkeys and parrots live there. In stories and films: explorers cut through the jungle. Phrases: the jungle, jungle gym (playground climbing frame, US), concrete jungle (a big city).

Examples

• Monkeys swing through the trees of the jungle. tree →
• Tigers live in the jungles of India. tree →
• Our back garden is a jungle after the summer. tree →
• We played on the jungle gym at break (US). tree →
• The city is a concrete jungle. tree →
• The explorers got lost in the jungle. tree →
• It rains almost every day in the jungle. tree →
• I had never seen the jungle. tree →

Note

Countable noun. "Jungle" and "rainforest" overlap; scientists usually say "rainforest", and "jungle" is the thick, tangled part. Myth: lions are called "king of the jungle" but they live in grasslands (savannah), not jungles.