ape

American  

[eyp] / eɪp /

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.)

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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 British  

/ 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

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verb

1. (tr) to imitate

Sensitive Note

See simianization.

Other Word Forms

• apelike adjective

Etymology

Origin of ape

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

Example Sentences

In a set of playful experiments modeled after children's tea parties, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have shown for the first time that apes can use imagination and take part in pretend play.

From Science Daily

Other digital asset treasury companies that sought to ape Saylor’s modus operandi have suffered a similar fate.

From MarketWatch

"I'm reminded of the famous 'Lucy' fossil, one of our hominid ancestors that lived 3 million years ago and was one of the key 'missing links' between apes and humans," he said.

From Science Daily

Since the social apes spend much of their time together, Pruetz is still able to observe the females and their young.

From Barron's

Now head researcher, he describes the apes as a "second family".

From Barron's

Related Words

• emulate
• imitate