anthropoid ape

[ an-thruh-poid eyp ]

noun
  1. any member of the former taxonomic suborder Anthropoidea, under which New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, and apes, including humans, were grouped: modern classification groups these under the suborder Haplorhini along with the tarsiers.

Origin of anthropoid ape

1
First recorded in 1830–40

Words Nearby anthropoid ape

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How to use anthropoid ape in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for anthropoid ape

anthropoid ape

noun
  1. any primate of the family Pongidae, having no tail, elongated arms, and a highly developed brain. The group includes gibbons, orang-utans, chimpanzees, and gorillas

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for anthropoid ape

anthropoid ape

[ ănthrə-poid′ ]


  1. A primate belonging to the family Pongidae, which includes the chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and orangutan. Orangutans are arboreal whereas the other three species are terrestrial or semiarboreal. Anthropoid apes move in trees mainly by arm-swinging and on the ground by quadrupedal walking in which the upper body weight is borne on the knuckles. Also called great ape pongid Compare hominid.

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