hominid

noun

hom·i·nid | \ ˈhä-mə-nəd

, -ˌnid\

plural hominids

Definition of hominid

(Entry 1 of 2)

: any of a family (Hominidae) of erect bipedal primate mammals that includes recent humans together with extinct ancestral and related forms and in some recent classifications the great apes (the orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee, and bonobo)

hominid

adjective

Definition of hominid (Entry 2 of 2)

: of, relating to, or being a member of a family (Hominidae) of erect, bipedal, primate mammals that includes recent humans together with extinct ancestral and related forms and in some recent classifications the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan The discovery of a 3.5-million-year-old hominid skull and other fossil remains in northern Kenya is shaking the human family tree at its very roots.— Michael Balter

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Examples of hominid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

This meant early hominids weren’t just miniature versions of contemporary humans, as was thought at the time, but more similar to apes. — Quanta Magazine, "Teeth May Reveal a Multi-Day Biological Clock," 13 Dec. 2016 Augmenting nature is an ancient idea that dates back to the earliest hominids and the dawn of agriculture. — Jill Kiedaisch, Popular Mechanics, "The Leafy Green Cyborgs Are Coming," 6 Dec. 2018 And in fact, no extinction event before the rise of hominids had ever been worse for large animals compared with smaller ones. — Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, "The more humans spread, the smaller other mammals get. Elephants, rhinos and hippos had better watch out," 20 Apr. 2018 The Denisovan hominid was first detected at the Denisova Cave in Siberia. — John Wenz, Popular Mechanics, "A New Fossil Holds an Ancient Secret About Humanity," 22 Aug. 2018 Kubrick Mons honours film director Stanley Kubrick, whose iconic 2001: A Space Odyssey tells the story of humanity’s evolution from tool-using hominids to space explorers and beyond. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Science Fiction's Biggest Names Will Live Forever on Pluto's Moon," 13 Apr. 2018 The authors found that for roughly 700,000 years, from 1.2 million to 499,000 years ago, the hominids who populated this basin relied almost entirely on one simple, all-purpose stone tool known as a hand ax. — Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, "Evolve or die: Why our ancestors learned to be social more than 320,000 years ago," 15 Mar. 2018 The cave, which probably served as a shelter for these hominids, is located on the western slope of Mt. Carmel and is part of a network of caves in the area. — Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, "Fossil found in Israeli cave may change the story of human migration out of Africa," 25 Jan. 2018 Smith and her colleagues conclude that the size of large mammals on that continent may have been affected by hominid hunters going back more than a million years. — Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, "The more humans spread, the smaller other mammals get. Elephants, rhinos and hippos had better watch out," 20 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hominid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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28 Jun 2019

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The first known use of hominid was circa 1889

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hominid

noun

hom·i·nid | \ ˈhäm-ə-nəd, -ˌnid

Medical Definition of hominid

: any of a family (Hominidae) of erect, bipedal, primate mammals that includes recent humans together with extinct ancestral and related forms and in some recent classifications the gorilla, chimpanzee, and organgutan