definitions

anthropoid ape

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noun

any tailless ape of the families Pongidae and Hylobatidae, anatomically resembling humans, and comprising the gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons and siamangs.

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Nearby words

anthropogenesis, anthropogenic, anthropogeography, anthropography, anthropoid, anthropoid ape, anthropoid pelvis, anthropoidea, anthropol., anthropolatry, anthropological linguistics

Origin of anthropoid ape

First recorded in 1830–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for anthropoid ape

  • We may assume that the precursor of man had arrived at the anthropoid-ape level by the middle of the Miocene period.

    The Story of Evolution|Joseph McCabe

British Dictionary definitions for anthropoid ape

anthropoid ape

noun

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

Science definitions for anthropoid ape

anthropoid ape

[ ăn′thrə-poid′ ]

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.