ape

[eyp]

noun

1. Anthropology, Zoology.,  any member of the superfamily Hominoidea, the two extant branches of which are the lesser apes (gibbons) and the great apes (humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans).

2. (loosely) any primate except humans.

3. an imitator; mimic.

4. Informal.,  a big, ugly, clumsy person.

5. Disparaging and Offensive.,  (used as a slur against a member of a racial or ethnic minority group, especially a Black person.)

verb (used with object)

aped, aping 

1. to imitate; mimic.

   to ape another's style of writing.

adjective

1. Slang.,  (usually in the phrasego ape )

   1. violently emotional.

      When she threatened to leave him, he went ape.

   2. extremely enthusiastic (often followed by over orfor ).

      They go ape over old rock music.

      We were all ape for the new movie trailer.

ape

/ eɪp /

noun

1. any of various primates, esp those of the family Pongidae , in which the tail is very short or absent See anthropoid ape See also great ape

2. (not in technical use) any monkey

3. an imitator; mimic

4. informal,  a coarse, clumsy, or rude person

verb

1. (tr) to imitate

Sensitive Note

See simianization.

Other Word Forms

• apelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ape¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English apa; cognate with Old Saxon apo, Old Norse api, Old High German affo ( German Affe ); further origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of ape¹

Old English apa; related to Old Saxon ape, Old Norse api, Old High German affo

Example Sentences

That’s a lot of unattractive apes huddling together, learning how to mimic the attitudes of their social leaders.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Customs said the passenger, who had travelled from Malaysia via Thailand, was given the rare apes by a wildlife trafficking "syndicate" for delivery in India.

Read more on Barron's

In the 1960s, a primitive chatbot that mindlessly aped a therapist had people pouring their hearts out to it.

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Humans evolved large brains and flat faces at a surprisingly rapid pace compared to other apes, likely reflecting the evolutionary advantages of these traits, finds a new analysis of ape skulls by UCL researchers.

Read more on Science Daily

Though Hale’s crude aping of Harold Lloyd is disappointing, the rest of the cast acquit themselves admirably—no one more so than La Plante as the sympathetic heroine.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• emulate 
• imitate