mandrill

noun

man·​drill ˈman-drəl 

: a large baboon (Mandrillus sphinx synonym Simia sphinx) of central Africa west of the Congo River with the male having a bright red and blue muzzle

Illustration of mandrill

Examples of mandrill in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the film, Mufasa’s tale is told via flashback, with the mandrill Rafiki sharing the story with Simba and Nala’s daughter, Kiara. — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2025

The carcass of a male mandrill is being burned to remove the fur for the purpose of selling the meat in a market on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. — Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

Kiara, Timon and Pumbaa listen to the tale of the princess’ grandfather Mufasa, courtesy of John Kani’s mandrill Rafiki. — Jack Smart, People.com, 18 Dec. 2024

The story is told by the shaman mandrill Rafiki (John Kani) to lion cub Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), with wise-cracking meerkat and warthog duo Timon and Pumbaa (Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, respectively) annoyingly interjecting entirely too often. — Meredith G. White, The Arizona Republic, 17 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably from man entry 1 + drill entry 3

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mandrill

• mandrel
• spandrel

Kids Definition

mandrill

noun

man·​drill ˈman-drəl 

: a large baboon of western Africa with a red rump and in the male with blue ridges on the sides of the nose