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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 virus, according to a report in Nature, was first isolated in 1945 from a gibbon in Florida.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025

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

Avoiding the paved or dirt roads below our gibbon is far from easy.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2022

In the ape tribe we are able to trace nearly every step by which the gulf between quadruped and biped has been crossed, from the quadrupedal baboon to the nearly erect gibbon.

From Man And His Ancestor A Study In Evolution by Morris, Charles