bonobo
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bonobo
First recorded in 1950–55; origin uncertain; probably from a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Explanation
A bonobo is an African ape that's slightly smaller than a chimpanzee. Known for being timid and peaceful, bonobo groups are also matriarchal, led by females. Along with chimpanzees, bonobos are our closest relatives, sharing 98.7 percent of their DNA with humans. These apes are native to a small region in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where their existence is threatened by deforestation and poaching. Bonobo most likely derives from a misspelling of the Congolese town of Bolobo printed on a shipping crate. Before being recognized as a separate species and given a distinct name, they were called pygmy chimpanzees.
Vocabulary lists containing bonobo
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Across three carefully designed experiments, a single bonobo interacted with imaginary juice and pretend grapes in a consistent and repeatable way.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 10, 2026
They designed experiments similar to children's tea parties and tested Kanzi, a 43-year-old bonobo living at Ape Initiative.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 10, 2026
Similar findings were also reported in another study with a bonobo, in which the bonobo was also able to synchronize its drum beats to a human in the experiment.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025
By contrast, Berthet notes that bonobo communication focuses mostly on getting the group together.
From Salon ● May 29, 2025
The bonobo looked alarmed, so I held his hand and stroked his scabby forehead.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
The experts studied chimpanzees and bonobos living at two great ape sanctuaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Humans, chimps and bonobos share a common ancestor going back 7 million years or so.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
By looking at chimps, which along with bonobos are humans' closest living relatives, perhaps we "can help confirm some of the hypotheses about how those really early hominins, or bipedal apes, behaved", Pruetz said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 15, 2026
This pattern is particularly striking because bonobos are just as genetically close to humans as chimpanzees, yet their vocalizations differ greatly in acoustic structure.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 10, 2025
The bonobos meant too much to her not to make that point to me.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
