chimpanzee

noun

chim·​pan·​zee (ˌ)chim-ˌpan-ˈzē How to pronounce chimpanzee (audio)
-pən-ˈzē,
-ˈpan-zē How to pronounce chimpanzee (audio)
 sometimes  (ˌ)shim-
: an anthropoid ape (Pan troglodytes) of equatorial Africa that is smaller and more arboreal than the gorilla compare bonobo

Illustration of chimpanzee

Illustration of chimpanzee

Examples of chimpanzee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Scientists estimate that humans share about 98.8% of our DNA with chimpanzees. Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 30 Jan. 2024 This lovely documentary from Brett Morgen (Moonage Daydream) chronicles primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist Jane Goodall’s groundbreaking research with chimpanzees. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 21 Jan. 2024 Along with chimpanzees, bonobos are some of our closest living relatives. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Nov. 2023 Apes–including humans and chimpanzees–are all primates who do not have long tails like lemurs and our other monkey relatives. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 29 Feb. 2024 The team of researchers worked with chimpanzees and bonobos at three zoos — the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, the Planckendael Zoo in Belgium and the Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan, as SWNS reported. Brittany Kasko, Fox News, 18 Dec. 2023 As Lawrence Wright has written in this magazine, courts, when considering the confinement of elephants and chimpanzees, have conceded that such animals evince many of the qualities that give humans legal standing, but have declined to follow through on the implications of this fact. Elizabeth Barber, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2023 Primatologists conclusively established the occurrence of menopause among adult female chimpanzees of the Ngogo community, and noted that the chimpanzees were post-reproductive for about a fifth of their lives, half the time observed in female hunter-gatherers. Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 13 Dec. 2023 Today, only gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans remain. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chimpanzee.' 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

Kongo dialect chimpenzi

First Known Use

1738, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chimpanzee was in 1738

Dictionary Entries Near chimpanzee

Cite this Entry

“Chimpanzee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chimpanzee. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chimpanzee

noun
chim·​pan·​zee ˌchim-ˌpan-ˈzē How to pronounce chimpanzee (audio) ˌshim- How to pronounce chimpanzee (audio)
chim-ˈpan-zē,
shim-
: an African ape that is related to the gorilla but is smaller and spends more of its time in trees

Medical Definition

chimpanzee

noun
chim·​pan·​zee ˌchim-ˌpan-ˈzē How to pronounce chimpanzee (audio) ˌshim- How to pronounce chimpanzee (audio)
-pən-; chim-ˈpan-zē,
shim-
: an anthropoid ape of the genus Pan (P. troglodytes) found in equatorial Africa that is smaller and more arboreal than the gorilla see bonobo

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