1
a
: 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
2
a
: mimic
b
: a large uncouth person
aped; aping
: to copy closely but often clumsily and ineptly
aper
noun
1
: wildly excited or enthusiastic
Our family of ten was ape for apricots, passionate about peaches …—
Jerry Nelson
—usually used in the phrase go apeJerry Nelson Kids go ape pointing out the location of the tiny otter on the big stage.—Dewayne BevilThe odds of the Phillies winning a World Series increased exponentially and the betting world went ape.—Tommy Gartrell
Dewayne BevilThe odds of the Phillies winning a World Series increased exponentially and the betting world went ape.—Tommy Gartrell2
: showing extreme or uncontrolled anger, aggression, or agitation
—usually used in the phrase go ape
They knew George Steinbrenner would go ape if the Yankees lost the highest-stakes game ever against the Red Sox.—Randy MillerAlso, don't scream at the top of your lungs or generally go ape. Screaming is for emergencies.—Jody StallingsWinged things have spooked me ever since a duck went ape and attacked me at age 4 at the Bronx Zoo.—Alfred Lubrano
Randy MillerAlso, don't scream at the top of your lungs or generally go ape. Screaming is for emergencies.—Jody StallingsWinged things have spooked me ever since a duck went ape and attacked me at age 4 at the Bronx Zoo.—Alfred Lubrano
Example Sentences
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 WebCarl Zimmer, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2023
And yet, rather than ape Cleese, Bean’s pratfalls and spittle-spraying proclamations of frustration are as naturalistic to his lean, long frame and wiry demeanor as gin is to juice.
—A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 20 Apr. 2023
From pixelated apes to Donald Trump trading cards, there’s no shortage of ideas in the world of Web3.
—Marco Quiroz-gutierrez, Fortune Crypto, 13 Apr. 2023
Moore, who works closely with apes, says his research can also provide insight into human evolution.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 4 Feb. 2023
Infants ages 1 to 2 have been found to use more than 50 gestures from the ape repertoire, researchers said.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN, 26 Jan. 2023
Investigating when prenatal growth and pregnancy became humanlike can help reveal when and how our ancestors’ brains became more like ours than like our ape relatives’.
—Tesla Monson, The Conversation, 25 Jan. 2023
Why humans may understand the ape gestures remains to be discovered.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2023
Major chains are offering new classes where participants act like animals by getting down on all fours and imitating apes, donkeys, crabs and scorpions.
—Jen Murphy, wsj.com, 13 May 2023
Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 15 May 2023
Theo James will ape the example of many a thespian predecessor by starring in a movie adaptation of a Stephen King tale.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 9 May 2023
Better than trying to ape BMW.
—Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 28 June 2022
Don’t ape this guy.
—Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 2 June 2022
So while other candidates may ape his style or tone, Trump remains sui generis.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 15 Feb. 2023
There simply isn’t enough time to see what the other player does and make a conscious decision to ape it.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 19 July 2011
The newspaper had hired two teams of Marines — one from the Navy Yard, the other from the Marine Corps Barracks — to ape the action at the Polo Grounds in New York, where the New York Giants would be facing the New York Yankees.
—John Kelly, Washington Post, 15 Oct. 2022
Not every crook has a skilled mimic on call to ape the brushstrokes of Titian or Twombly.
—Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2022
Crispin Long, The New Yorker, 12 July 2022
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
See More
Noun
So staying switched on longer in childhood could allow our brains to grow more than ape brains.
—Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2023
And yet, rather than ape Cleese, Bean’s pratfalls and spittle-spraying proclamations of frustration are as naturalistic to his lean, long frame and wiry demeanor as gin is to juice.
—A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 20 Apr. 2023
From pixelated apes to Donald Trump trading cards, there’s no shortage of ideas in the world of Web3.
—Marco Quiroz-gutierrez, Fortune Crypto, 13 Apr. 2023
Moore, who works closely with apes, says his research can also provide insight into human evolution.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 4 Feb. 2023
Infants ages 1 to 2 have been found to use more than 50 gestures from the ape repertoire, researchers said.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN, 26 Jan. 2023
Investigating when prenatal growth and pregnancy became humanlike can help reveal when and how our ancestors’ brains became more like ours than like our ape relatives’.
—Tesla Monson, The Conversation, 25 Jan. 2023
Why humans may understand the ape gestures remains to be discovered.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2023
Major chains are offering new classes where participants act like animals by getting down on all fours and imitating apes, donkeys, crabs and scorpions.
—Jen Murphy, wsj.com, 13 May 2023
Verb
Meanwhile, strongmen elsewhere have seen how easily Musk caved, and will consider aping Erdoğan’s playbook ahead of their own elections.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 15 May 2023
Theo James will ape the example of many a thespian predecessor by starring in a movie adaptation of a Stephen King tale.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 9 May 2023
Better than trying to ape BMW.
—Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 28 June 2022
Don’t ape this guy.
—Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 2 June 2022
So while other candidates may ape his style or tone, Trump remains sui generis.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 15 Feb. 2023
There simply isn’t enough time to see what the other player does and make a conscious decision to ape it.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 19 July 2011
The newspaper had hired two teams of Marines — one from the Navy Yard, the other from the Marine Corps Barracks — to ape the action at the Polo Grounds in New York, where the New York Giants would be facing the New York Yankees.
—John Kelly, Washington Post, 15 Oct. 2022
Not every crook has a skilled mimic on call to ape the brushstrokes of Titian or Twombly.
—Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2022
Adjective
The same is true of their treatment of Number One, Luther, who is gravely harmed on a doomed solo mission and injected with a life-saving experimental serum that transforms his body into that of an ape-human hybrid.
—Crispin Long, The New Yorker, 12 July 2022
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
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ape.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English apa; akin to Old High German affo ape
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b
Verb
1632, in the meaning defined above
Adjective
1950, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of ape was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing ape
Dictionary Entries Near ape
Cite this Entry
“Ape.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ape. Accessed 31 May. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
ape
1 of 2 noun1
a
: monkey entry 1 sense 1
especially
: one of the larger tailless or short-tailed forms
b
: any of two families of large primates including the chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, and gibbon
3
: a large uncouth person
ape
2 of 2 verb
aped; aping
: to copy closely but often clumsily
aper
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on ape
Nglish: Translation of ape for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of ape for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ape
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