chimpanzee

American  

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

noun

• chimpanzees
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chimpanzees
  plural

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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

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Compare meaning

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

• orangutan vs. chimpanzee

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Explanation

Chimpanzees are one of our closest ape relatives, along with bonobos. In the wild, chimpanzees live in social family groups and swing from tree to tree using their long arms. As a human, you share 98.7 percent of your genes with chimpanzees, as well as a common ancestor. Known as chimps for short, these endangered primates have furry bodies and smooth, expressive faces. They're one of the few non-human animals that use tools, and in captivity have been taught basic sign language. Chimpanzee is from the Bantu word chimpenze, "ape."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chimpanzee chimpanzees

One chimpanzee named Sandy displayed particularly interesting behavior.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

The vision was conceived by Jane Goodall, the late, famed chimpanzee expert, and Margarita Pagliai, who founded Seven Arrows and Little Dolphins Preschool in the Palisades.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026

If you compare the smartest nonhuman animal, the chimpanzee, to what Mr. Lefebvre regards as the smartest bird, the New Caledonian crow, chimps emerge on top.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

There, she became the namesake of the Ai Project, a research programme into the "chimpanzee mind".

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026

Nelle especially enjoyed going for walks with a touchy chimpanzee named Patsy, who lived on the porch.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Behind guarded gates resembling an Indian maharajah's palace are hundreds of elephants and big cats, giraffes grazing in a mock savannah, and chimpanzees and orangutans swinging from ropes.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

"We are less intelligent than superintelligent AI. If you ask chimpanzees how humans could wipe them out, they probably wouldn't be able to give you all the right answers."

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

New research suggests that whatever scientists ultimately discover about the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, one characteristic may be difficult to dispute: it was probably capable of climbing trees.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

This information can help us determine what chimpanzees are trying to communicate.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

They were way less famous than the other great apes, the chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, even though a recent study showed they were our closest relatives, sharing over 98.7 percent of our DNA.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

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Related Words

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