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• gibbon
  gibbon

  noun

  any of the small arboreal apes of the East Indies and southern Asia that belong to the four genera of the family Hylobatidae (the lesser apes), displaying strong territorial behavior with vigorous vocalization and having wrists much like ball-and-socket joints: all species are reduced in number, and most are endangered.
• Gibbon
  Gibbon

  noun

  Edward, 1737–94, English historian.

gibbon

¹ American  

[gib-uhn] / ˈgɪb ən /

noun

1. any of the small arboreal apes of the East Indies and southern Asia that belong to the four genera of the family Hylobatidae (the lesser apes), displaying strong territorial behavior with vigorous vocalization and having wrists much like ball-and-socket joints: all species are reduced in number, and most are endangered.

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Gibbon ² American  

[gib-uhn] / ˈgɪb ən /

noun

1. Edward, 1737–94, English historian.

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Gibbon ¹ British  

/ ˈɡɪbən /

noun

1. Edward. 1737–94, English historian; author of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776–88), controversial in its historical criticism of Christianity

2. Lewis Grassic (ˈɡræsɪk), real name James Leslie Mitchell . 1901–35, Scottish writer: best known for his trilogy of novels Scots Quair (1932–34)

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gibbon ² British  

/ ˈɡɪbən /

noun

1. any small agile arboreal anthropoid ape of the genus Hylobates, inhabiting forests in S Asia

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Etymology

Origin of gibbon

First recorded in 1760–70; from French, used by Georges Buffon; further origin uncertain

Example Sentences

The species most similar to humans in the study is the white-handed gibbon, with a monogamy rate of 63.5%.

From Science Daily • Jan. 22, 2026

The park has held off on an expansion of its gibbon pen, a big project that would have given the playful primates more space, but would have also required taking out a loan.

From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2023

"And I'm pleased to say I've beaten the challenge of Kent the gibbon external-link in Zagreb Zoo. He went very quiet once Croatia lost in the semi-finals."

From BBC • Dec. 16, 2022

Prentice, a lawyer and land baron, lived in a 16-room mansion near what is now the zoo with monkeys and a gibbon, whose mischief caused multiple housekeepers to quit, according to a 2009 Times article.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2022

There are only four principal kinds now existing, namely, the gibbon, orang-outang, chimpanzee, and the gorilla, of which the first is much less familiar than the others.

From The Doctrine of Evolution Its Basis and Its Scope by Crampton, Henry Edward