Illustration of gibbon
: any of a family (Hylobatidae) of agile brachiating tailless apes of southeastern Asia that are the smallest and most arboreal anthropoid apes
Examples of gibbon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
John Mitani is a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Michigan, whose studies over 45 years have included wild chimpanzees in Uganda and Tanzania; gibbons and orangutans in Indonesia, gorillas in Rwanda, and bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
—
Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The stipulation ended about two and a half years ago, Fisher said, and the zoo now has about 35 monkeys, ranging from larger white-handed gibbons to pygmy marmosets, one of the smallest monkey species.
—Lillian Ashworth, Oc Register, 18 July 2025
The trip offered stops to hike a rainforest filled with gibbons and to tour George Town, the pre-Singapore British entrepôt where an elite strata of Chinese-Malay families known as Peranakans built elaborate mansions.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 16 July 2025
As the day turned to evening, echoes of a gibbon’s howl from the nearby Cincinnati Zoo would sometimes punctuate the festivities.
—Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for gibbon
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The stipulation ended about two and a half years ago, Fisher said, and the zoo now has about 35 monkeys, ranging from larger white-handed gibbons to pygmy marmosets, one of the smallest monkey species.
—Lillian Ashworth, Oc Register, 18 July 2025
The trip offered stops to hike a rainforest filled with gibbons and to tour George Town, the pre-Singapore British entrepôt where an elite strata of Chinese-Malay families known as Peranakans built elaborate mansions.
—Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 16 July 2025
As the day turned to evening, echoes of a gibbon’s howl from the nearby Cincinnati Zoo would sometimes punctuate the festivities.
—Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for gibbon
Cite this Entry
“Gibbon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gibbon. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gibbon
noun
gib·bon
ˈgib-ən 
: any of several tailless apes of southeastern Asia that are smaller and spend more time in trees than the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan
Biographical Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share