: a very large typically black-colored anthropoid ape (Gorilla gorilla) of equatorial Africa that has a stocky body with broad shoulders and long arms and is less erect and has smaller ears than the chimpanzee
She hired some gorilla as her bodyguard.
the loan shark sent a couple of gorillas to “convince” him to pay up
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Zoogoers at the San Diego Zoo witnessed the startling moment a gorilla ran up against a glass viewing platform and broke it.—Saleen Martin, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025 The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden announced the name of Gladys the gorilla's three-week-old son.—Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 14 Oct. 2025 The International Fund for Animal Welfare notes that the western lowlands are the smallest of the gorilla species.—Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025 While Goodall focused on chimps, Dian Fossey studied gorillas and Birutė Galdikas studied orangutans.—Tricia Escobedo, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gorilla
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Greek Gorillai, plural, a tribe of hairy women mentioned in an account of a voyage around Africa
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