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 This period of rapid change began after humans branched off from chimpanzees, making the results of the changes unique to humans. Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 28 Aug. 2023 In a study published Wednesday in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers put speakers near crocodiles and played recordings of human, bonobo and chimpanzee infants. Elizabeth Preston, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2023 The entire ceiling is covered in greenery, flowers, birds and chimpanzees. Linze Rice, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2023 One of our ancestors had extremely swole leg muscles By Sara Kiley Watson Human lineage split from chimpanzees (are our closest living relatives today) about seven million years ago, but early, primitive primates were evolving around 55 million years ago. Rachel Feltman, Popular Science, 30 Aug. 2023 Infants might like games of patty cake, while toddlers could go in for the rough-and-tumble play often seen in baby animals such as puppies and chimpanzees. Bob Brody, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Aug. 2023 With the new research, scientists found that the lineage that led to humans split off from the one that led to chimpanzees and bonobos between 6.9 million and 9 million years ago, writes Reuters’ Will Dunham. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 June 2023 Miga's team, called the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium, is also beginning to compare the human Y sequence to the Y sequence of non-human primates, like chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos. Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2023 Brazilian capuchin monkeys have used rocks to crack open seeds and nuts for at least 3000 years, and chimpanzees in Ivory Coast have done so for more than 4000 years. Byvirginia Morell, science.org, 10 Mar. 2023 See More

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 4 Oct. 2023.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on chimpanzee

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!