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

She tosses carrots, celery and other fibrous treats like cucumbers on top of the branches and leaves that are reminiscent of the apes’ West Central Africa rainforest habitat.

From Los Angeles Times

Their absence has fuelled speculation as to whether the great apes were swept away by floods and landslides.

From BBC

These results support the idea that humans and great apes share vocal processing abilities that existed before spoken language emerged.

From Science Daily

The birth comes at an exciting time for L.A. zookeepers, who have welcomed the five endangered great apes in the span of four months.

From Los Angeles Times

Even so, this steady, low-level intake of ethanol implies that the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, our closest living relatives among the apes, probably encountered alcohol every day from fermenting fruit.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• emulate
• imitate