chimpanzee

American  

[chim-pan-zee, chim-pan-zee] / ˌtʃɪm pænˈzi, tʃɪmˈpæn zi /

noun

1. a very social great ape of sub-Saharan Africa, belonging to the genus Pan and having a brown-to-black coat, a relatively hairless face with a rounded muzzle, prominent ears, and hands adapted for knuckle-walking, and noted for its intelligence and humanlike behavior: both species, the common chimpanzee (P. troglodytes ) and the bonobo (P. paniscus ), are greatly reduced in number and considered endangered.

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chimpanzee British  

/ ˌtʃɪmpænˈziː /

noun

1. a gregarious and intelligent anthropoid ape, Pan troglodytes, inhabiting forests in central W Africa

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Etymology

Origin of chimpanzee

First recorded in 1730–40; origin uncertain; possibly from Vili , a Bantu language spoken on the Atlantic coast between southern Gabon and northern Angola

Compare meaning

How does chimpanzee compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• orangutan vs. chimpanzee

Example Sentences

Then he started to walk like a chimpanzee.

From Literature

After the split between human and chimpanzee lineages around 7 million years ago, early human ancestors followed a complex evolutionary path that eventually led to the emergence of Homo sapiens roughly 300,000 years ago.

From Science Daily

Mountain gorillas show a full sibling rate of just 6%, while chimpanzees come in at only 4% -- on a par with dolphins.

From Science Daily

The Fongoli apes are members of the critically endangered subspecies of West African chimpanzees.

From Barron's

He is among five people from local villages, all but one without a high school diploma, working on a project focused on the area's highly unusual savannah-dwelling chimpanzees.

From Barron's

Related Words

• ape
• baboon
• gorilla
• lemur
• orangutan