orangutan
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of orangutan
First recorded in 1690–1700; from Dutch orang outang, apparently from Malay: literally, “forest man” ( Malay orang “man, person” + (h)utan “forest”
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How does orangutan compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Orangutans are primates with red fur, and they're also the largest animals that live mostly in trees. You may have seen orangutans at the zoo, swinging from branch to branch using their long arms. Orangutans are distinctive animals, with their shaggy hair, short legs, and long, agile arms. These intelligent primates are native to Indonesian and Malaysian rainforests, and just like those ecosystems, orangutans are endangered. Their name is derived from the Malay orang utan, "man of the forest," and it's especially fitting that we now know orangutans share more than 96 percent of their genes with humans.
Vocabulary lists containing orangutan
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.
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"The crisis facing the Tapanuli orangutan illustrates the convergence of climate instability, biodiversity loss, and vulnerability, calling for a coordinated response matching the scale of the threat," they report wrote.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
An orangutan mom doesn’t have a partner to make dinner or put on a dress for—orangutans live mostly alone—but she does handle all the homemaking and childcare herself.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
But the joy that little monkey feels for his orangutan, which he uses as shield, surrogate and playmate, is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
"Revoking permits is not immediately a win," said Panut Hadisiswoyo, a conservationist and orangutan specialist.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
“You said the orangutan came floating on an island of bananas.”
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
To investigate, researchers analyzed laughter recordings from four orangutans, two gorillas, three bonobos, four chimpanzees, and four humans.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
The sample included gorillas, orangutans, macaques, colobus monkeys, fossil apes and more.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026
Conservationists have lobbied for a moratorium on development in Batang Toru, where tapanuli orangutans suffered first habitat loss and then the flood disaster.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
Here, in the mountainous forests of Batang Toru, is where they had always seen and heard the world's rarest ape, the Tapanuli orangutans.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025
Barnum shows his "mermaid" alongside real exotic animals like orangutans and grizzly bears.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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.
