ape

noun \ ˈāp \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Definition of ape

1 a : monkey; especially : one of the larger tailless or short-tailed Old World forms

b : any of various large tailless semi-erect primates of Africa and southeastern Asia (such as the chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, or gibbon) — called also anthropoid, anthropoid ape; compare great ape

2 a : mimic

b : a large uncouth person

—

apelike

play \ˈāp-ˌlīk\ adjective

See ape defined for English-language learners

See ape defined for kids

Examples of ape in a Sentence

Her boyfriend's some big ape she met at a party.

Recent Examples of ape from the Web

Carsey’s comments come less than two weeks after Barr sent a racist tweet about former President Obama aide Valerie Jarrett in which Barr compared Jarrett to an ape.

— kate stanhope, latimes.com, "Former ‘Roseanne’ producer talks about revival's cancellation, potential spinoff: 'I would just move on'," 8 June 2018
The famous 1967 Patterson-Gimlin Film — the grainy footage of an ape-like creature walking in a forest, which serves as a sort of religious tablet to Bigfoot believers — was recorded nearby, at Bluff Creek.

— leah sottile, SFChronicle.com, "Gone ‘squatchin’: How to hunt for Bigfoot," 8 June 2018
To be clear, Barr did not compare Jarrett to an ape.

— michael harriot, The Root, "10 Euphemisms for ‘Racist’ That Won’t Hurt White People’s Feelings," 7 June 2018
Roseanne was canceled by ABC last week after Barr wrote a tweet comparing Jarrett to an ape.

— jodi guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, "Tom Arnold Calls Ex-Wife Roseanne Barr a 'Ticking Time Bomb' After Tweet Gets Her Show Canceled," 5 June 2018
Fortune Roseanne Cancelled The hit sitcom Roseanne has been abruptly scrapped after its star, the conservative actress Roseanne Barr, compared former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett—who is black—to an ape.

— alan murray, Fortune, "China Surprise, EU Tariffs, Browder Arrest: CEO Daily for May 30, 2018," 30 May 2018
Sixty-six million years ago, nothing seemed more unlikely than the dominance of bipedal apes and flying dinosaurs.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "How the Ancestors of Birds Survived the Dino-Killing Asteroid," 24 May 2018
Among chimps and other apes, however, handedness appears to vary based on the method of evaluation.

— gemma tarlach, Discover Magazine, "Was Science Wrong About Being Right?," 18 May 2018
In the desert the apes ponder a curious tall, black monolith, not natural, not theirs, not earthly.

— charles champlin, latimes.com, "'2001: A Space Odyssey' still blowing minds 50 years later," 17 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ape.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ape

Middle English, from Old English apa; akin to Old High German affo ape

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

ape

verb

Definition of ape

aped; aping

transitive verb

: to copy closely but often clumsily and ineptly

—

aper

noun

See ape defined for English-language learners

Examples of ape in a Sentence

She apes the speech and manners of the rich.
was caught aping the substitute teacher's thick accent

Recent Examples of ape from the Web

Director and co-writer Gary Ross follows familiar story beats and attempts, unsuccessfully, to ape Soderbergh’s filmmaking style.

— lindsey bahr, kansascity, "‘Ocean’s 8’ cruises through familiar waters with its talented all-star cast," 7 June 2018
Initially, this dearth of new ideas isn’t so egregious; plenty of stories have aped Blade Runner for slick, sci-fi thrills and still managed to be insightful or at least entertaining.

— andrew webster, The Verge, "Detroit: Become Human review: a beautiful vision of the future gets stuck in the past," 24 May 2018
Simon Cowell came onstage along with a young woman aping a ventriloquist version of him.

— rani molla, Recode, "The network TV upfronts, explained by a millennial," 14 May 2018
During a time when too many rock bands aped Nirvana’s and Pearl Jam’s styles, whining through their bad Eddie Vedder impressions to land a lucrative hit, the sound of marimba echoing under soft, breezy symphonies offered a welcome counterpoint.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Finding the Soundtrack to My Desert Life," 25 Apr. 2018
Federal Reserve research published last week indicates that when U.S. government bond yields react after interest-rate meetings, around half their move will be aped by the German government-bond market.

— mike bird, WSJ, "Why the U.S. Bond Milestone Will Ripple Across Global Markets," 24 Apr. 2018
How far McCarthy can go in aping Jordan on this subject depends on how much concern there is among the silent majority of members that Congress might end up obstructing legitimate inquiries.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "How hard will McCarthy go against Mueller?," 23 Apr. 2018
Yet, in a Republican primary that’s seemed to be a contest as to who can be the Trumpiest, Braun has joined his opponents in aping some of Trump’s staunchest viewpoints.

— robert king, Indianapolis Star, "Mike Braun, a Republican Senate candidate, brings casual attire but serious business credentials," 12 Apr. 2018
The question now is just how many copycat shows will spring up at other networks, in an attempt to ape the Roseanne revival’s success.

— yohana desta, HWD, "How ABC Scrambled to Capture Trump Voters—and Landed on Roseanne," 30 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of ape

1632

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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ape Synonyms

Synonyms

copy, copycat, emulate, imitate, mime, mimic;

Related Words

ditto, echo, reecho, repeat;

burlesque, caricature, lampoon, mock, parody, travesty;

impersonate, perform, play;

pantomime;

Synonym Discussion of ape

copy, imitate, mimic, ape, mock mean to make something so that it resembles an existing thing. copy suggests duplicating an original as nearly as possible.

- copied the painting and sold the fake as an original

imitate suggests following a model or a pattern but may allow for some variation.

- imitate a poet's style

mimic implies a close copying (as of voice or mannerism) often for fun, ridicule, or lifelike imitation.

- pupils mimicking their teacher

ape may suggest presumptuous, slavish, or inept imitating of a superior original.

- American fashion designers aped their European colleagues

mock usually implies imitation with derision.

- mocking a vain man's pompous manner

ape

adjective

Definition of ape

: crazy, wild —usually used in the phrase go ape

See ape defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of ape from the Web

Barr also used an ape reference in a past tweet about Susan Rice, former President Obama’s National Security Adviser and — like Jarrett — an African-American woman.

— karla peterson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Why Roseanne Barr and Samantha Bee's slurs were shameful, but not equal," 1 June 2018
But the bikers come anyway, astride choppers and ape hangers, V-Twins shaking the wet pavement, and a rope or two hanging off handlebars—to whip cars that get too close.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Beer and Bikes in the Black Forest—And All for a Good Cause," 31 May 2018
The two watched acrobats in black body suits and ape ears — a nod to Kubrick’s film — swivel on a display in front of a re-creation of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz joint mission.

— sopan deb, New York Times, "Night at the Space Museum: 10 Open Bars and Tons of Kubrick References," 8 Apr. 2018
The world governing body FIFA is already investigating ape noises heard during a warmup friendly against France in Saint Petersburg last month.

— dmitry zaks, chicagotribune.com, "Spartak Moscow handed stadium ban for racist behavior," 25 Apr. 2018
The first part of the movie shows an alien artifact—a black monolith—that appears in the world of our ape ancestors, and starts the process that leads to modern civilization.

— stephen wolfram, WIRED, "2001: A Space Odyssey Predicted The Future—50 Years Ago," 3 Apr. 2018
Old World monkeys, apes and hominins — the branch of the ape family tree that includes humans — inherited that ancestor’s ability to see red, particularly against a green background.

— gemma tarlach, Discover Magazine, "Pigment of Our Imagination," 23 Mar. 2018
Just ten years ago, Power says, the scientific community knew virtually nothing about ape milk, let alone the milk of dozens of other exotic mammals whose samples now dominate the repository freezer.

— zoe sayler, Smithsonian, "What Aardvark Milk Reveals about the Evolution of Lactation," 21 Mar. 2018
But Hanuman is also the name of a monkey (not ape) deity featured in Hindu society, and star of an epic poem that has some oblique overlap with one of the storylines in the film.

— ellen mcgirt, Fortune, "raceAhead: Why Diversity Efforts Fail," 2 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of ape

1955

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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APE Defined for English Language Learners

ape

noun

Definition of ape for English Language Learners

: a type of animal (such as a chimpanzee or gorilla) that is closely related to monkeys and humans and that is covered in hair and has no tail or a very short tail
: a large and stupid or rude person

ape

verb

Definition of ape for English Language Learners

: to copy or imitate (something or someone)

APE Defined for Kids

ape

noun \ ˈāp \

Definition of ape for Students

: any of a group of tailless animals (as gorillas or chimpanzees) that are primates most closely related to humans

—

apelike

\ˈāp-ˌlīk\ adjective

ape

verb

Definition of ape for Students

aped; aping

: to imitate (someone) awkwardly

He apes the styles of his favorite actor.

Medical Dictionary

ape

noun \ ˈāp \

medical Definition of ape

1 : monkey; especially : one of the larger tailless or short-tailed Old World forms

2 : any of the large tailless semierect primates of Africa and southeastern Asia (as the chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, or gibbon) — called also anthropoid, anthropoid ape