ape

noun

\ ˈāp

Definition of ape

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : 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

b : monkey especially : one of the larger tailless or short-tailed Old World forms —not used technically

2a : mimic

b : a large uncouth person

ape

verb

aped; aping

Definition of ape (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

: to copy closely but often clumsily and ineptly

ape

adjective

Definition of ape (Entry 3 of 3)

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

Other Words from ape Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym Example Sentences Learn More About ape

Synonyms for ape

Synonyms: Verb

Choose the Right Synonym for ape

Verb

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, unoriginal, 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

Examples of ape in a Sentence

Noun Her boyfriend's some big ape she met at a party. Verb She apes the speech and manners of the rich. was caught aping the substitute teacher's thick accent

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Based on the impressions left behind, the Site A hominin may have had a more flexible, ape-like midfoot than A. afarensis. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 6 Dec. 2021 In October, Sotheby's sold a rare BAYC NFT depicting an ape with gold fur for a record-breaking $3.4 million—the highest amount ever paid for a Bored Ape NFT. — Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 16 Dec. 2021 At the Bored Ape Yacht Club, your unique cartoon-ape NFT comes with membership privileges, including invitations to real-world events. — Joanna Stern, WSJ, 13 Dec. 2021 There were some outliers in the data collected in Uganda, Guinea and Rwanda, despite a heavy human presence in those countries’ ape habitats. — Rachel Nuwer, Scientific American, 17 Nov. 2021 Oseary, whose own ape appears above, credits the dedicated BAYC community for establishing its place in the NFT marketplace. — Shirley Halperin, Variety, 12 Oct. 2021 One official said the ape may have been asking for food. — Bayliss Wagner, USA TODAY, 13 Oct. 2021 Individual apes are sold on the Ethereum blockchain — the current minimum price for a single ape: 39.69 ETH, or nearly $140,000 — and have drawn such notable collectors as Steph Curry and Marshmello. — Shirley Halperin, Variety, 12 Oct. 2021 Species that are currently maybe only a generation away from extinction include the Javan rhino with fewer than 70 left, the Hainan gibbon, a type of ape with fewer than 30 left. — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 30 Sep. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb He’s been replaced by a second Samurai who uses technology to ape the original’s powers, but nobody cares. — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 11 Dec. 2021 Season 2 tried to ape the confusing timeline trickery of the first and mostly failed miserably. — Erik Kain, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2021 But Mann and his cinematographer Dion Beebe consciously chose not to ape the look of film in Miami Vice. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021 Later With John Mayer would ape the format of the long-running British chat show, Later With Jools Holland. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2021 But though there have been many iterations of Kong, none can ape the impact of the original. — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2021 WandaVision isn't just inspired by sitcoms, then, but seems to unknowingly ape their message that the (white) nuclear family is the ideal pillar of society. — Jeva Lange, TheWeek, 26 Feb. 2021 The Gringa goes out of its way to ape the sort of archival work that fiction writers who deal carefully with history engage in—only to dismiss it all as meaningless. — Andrew Altschul, The New York Review of Books, 6 July 2020 Sumit Ghosh’s strategy seems to be to ape TikTok—literally. — Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz India, 2 July 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Each faces resistance from his own side, since anti-ape prejudice is still part of the formerly dominant species’ worldview. — New York Times, 13 May 2021 But now the world’s gorillas, and also their great-ape cousins, the chimpanzees, bonobos and orang-utans, face another threat from their human neighbours: covid-19. — The Economist, 16 May 2020 But a close analysis of the rounded head of the femur revealed that their hips were carrying weight differently and much more ape-like by hanging out in trees. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 2 Apr. 2020 Every hominin species in the fossil record has its own unique mix of familiar human traits and more ape-like ones, shaped by their environments and lifestyles. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 30 Mar. 2020 Walking upright on two legs is considered a human trait that separates us from our ape relatives, like chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 2 Apr. 2020 That species was an early member of our genus who walked upright and had a mixture of human and ape-like features. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 3 Feb. 2020 The fire started in a corner of the ape house’s roof in the first minutes of the new year and spread rapidly. — Washington Post, 2 Jan. 2020 Students primed with black faces detected ape images more quickly. — Douglas Starr, Science | AAAS, 26 Mar. 2020

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.

Learn More About ape

Dictionary Entries Near ape

APC

ape

apeak

Statistics for ape

Last Updated

9 Jan 2022

Cite this Entry

“Ape.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ape. Accessed 17 Jan. 2022.

Style: MLA

MLA

Chicago

APA

Merriam-Webster Check Mark Icon

More Definitions for ape

ape

noun

English Language Learners Definition of ape

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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

English Language Learners Definition of ape (Entry 2 of 2)

: to copy or imitate (something or someone)

See the full definition for ape in the English Language Learners Dictionary

ape

noun

\ ˈāp