as in grove
a thick patch of shrubbery, small trees, or underbrush
the rabbit darted into the chaparral
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chaparral
In the hills, in the hollows, up the draws and the old dirt logging roads, hidden in the chaparral above the fog line, growing and selling weed became a way of life, woven into the community and its economy.
—
Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
The Eaton fire ripped through the Rubio Canyon Preserve, seriously damaging the canyon’s chaparral, coast sage scrub and riparian habitats.
—Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
That’s because well-off Angelenos tend to live on mountains and hillsides and in canyons that are covered in highly flammable chaparral, which are an excellent breeding ground for rapidly spreading fires, driven by Santa Ana winds of up to 100 mph.
—Todd Longwell, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
It's been fueled by a mix of timber, chaparral and brush.
—Helen Rummel, AZCentral.com, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaparral
Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
The Eaton fire ripped through the Rubio Canyon Preserve, seriously damaging the canyon’s chaparral, coast sage scrub and riparian habitats.
—Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
That’s because well-off Angelenos tend to live on mountains and hillsides and in canyons that are covered in highly flammable chaparral, which are an excellent breeding ground for rapidly spreading fires, driven by Santa Ana winds of up to 100 mph.
—Todd Longwell, Variety, 12 Nov. 2025
It's been fueled by a mix of timber, chaparral and brush.
—Helen Rummel, AZCentral.com, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chaparral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chaparral
Noun
-
In 1888, when the island Torrey pine was first described, the population of the grove was heavily impacted by sheep and was estimated to be about 100 mature, reproductive trees.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The five-acre private villa estate offers nine startling low-slung beach villas which sit harmoniously in a coconut grove on an undeveloped stretch of volcanic beach on the northern shores.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As Laugier’s story continues, the man wanders through a forest, stumbles upon fallen branches, and has an epiphany.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 May 2026
-
Delaney's love of gardening, birds and the forest inspired her decision to be transformed into soil — literally — through a process known as natural organic reduction.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
Otaegui came to the par-5 18th needing birdie to force a playoff and hit his tee shot into a bush to the right.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Apr. 2026
-
When selecting plants like beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes, look for determinate or bush-type plants—these varieties stay small and are well-adapted to containers.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The solution, Shive and Conway said, is removing many of the overgrown smaller trees that surround the giant sequoias in dense thickets, like white fir, red fir and incense cedar.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The oasis is packed with dense thickets of date palms and banana plantations.—
Julie Bourdin,
NPR,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Here, the train rolls into one of Scotland’s most remote stations, arriving via a line built up on a raft of roots and brushwood because traditional foundations failed in the boggy ground.—
Rosie Conroy,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
-
During one expedition to what was once London, a young scientist, out gathering brushwood, unearths a small vacuum flask, inside which is a handwritten account of life in a small village called Beadle during the days leading up to the lunar catastrophe.—
Michael Dirda,
Washington Post,
2 Feb. 2023
Noun
-
His house sits across from what used to be a thick copse of woods.—
Liam Rappleye,
Freep.com,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Captured by the photographer Lee Jaffe in 1983, Basquiat wears a wide-brimmed hat against a blue summer sky, a copse of softly out-of-focus trees visible in the background.—
Laura May Todd,
Vogue,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The two most straightforward of the trials will involve large-scale planting of trees and bioenergy crops, including Miscanthus grasses and coppice willow, reports Robert Lea for AZoCleanTech.—
Alex Fox,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 May 2021
-
Another strategy, called short rotation coppice, involves planting fast-growing trees such as willows and poplars in extremely dense rows.—
Eric Toensmeier,
Scientific American,
1 Aug. 2020
Noun
-
One boy quickly slammed on the brakes, as a girl administered medication Taylor was holding and others called for help.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The sharp contraction in film and TV production since 2022 has been a global phenomenon, as major studios pumped the brakes on the streaming frenzy of the previous decade.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chaparral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chaparral. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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