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• Primates
  Primates

  noun

  the order comprising the primates.
• primates
  primates

  The order of mammals that includes monkeys, apes, and human beings. Primates are distinguished from other animals in that they generally possess limbs capable of performing a variety of functions, hands and feet adapted for grasping (including opposable thumbs), flattened snouts, and other anatomical features. (See Linnean classification.)

Primates

American  

[prahy-mey-teez] / praɪˈmeɪ tiz /

noun

1. the order comprising the primates.

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primates Cultural  

1. The order of mammals that includes monkeys, apes, and human beings. Primates are distinguished from other animals in that they generally possess limbs capable of performing a variety of functions, hands and feet adapted for grasping (including opposable thumbs), flattened snouts, and other anatomical features. (See Linnean classification.)

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Etymology

Origin of Primates

1765–75; < New Latin, plural of Latin prīmās one of the first, chief, principal. See primate

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Primates primates

Primates were already around by the time the asteroid struck, in a Northern Hemisphere spring 66 million years ago.

From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2024

Says Hirsch: "Primates and many other mammals travel long distances every day in search for food, making it almost impossible to replicate their real-world navigation challenges in a lab."

From Science Daily ● May 28, 2024

Primates aren’t the only exotic animals popular here.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2024

"We've seen an escalation in this extreme, graphic content, which used to be hidden but is now circulating openly on platforms like Facebook," said Sarah Kite, co-founder of animal charity Action for Primates.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2023

The C.D.C. also temporarily revoked the licenses of three companies, Hazleton Research Products, the Charles River Primates Corporation, and Worldwide Primates, charging these companies with violations of quarantine rules.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

The results were especially encouraging in nonhuman primates, whose liver biology and gut microbiota more closely resemble those of humans.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

Humans are social primates, and our perceptions of what’s normal or desirable are shaped by those around us.

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026

Humans are not the only primates that laugh.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026

Understanding the evolutionary response to climate change is crucial to conserving the world’s primates, and other species beyond.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026

Humans socialize in the largest groups of all primates because we are the only animals with brains large enough to handle the complexities of that social arrangement.

From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell