What does "chimpanzee" mean?

Pan troglodytes, a species of great ape native to the savannas and forests of Africa, and believed by biologists to be the closest extant relative to humans along with the bonobo.

What is a synonym for "chimpanzee"?

Common synonyms include: chimp, chimp, ape, bar, bear, cape polecat.

Chimpanzee

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1
Pan troglodytes, a species of great ape native to the savannas and forests of Africa, and believed by biologists to be the closest extant relative to humans along with the bonobo.
2
intelligent somewhat arboreal ape of equatorial African forests wordnet
3
A member of the genus Pan, including the bonobo which was formerly known as the pygmy chimpanzee. broadly

Synonyms

All synonyms

chimp chimp ape bar bear cape polecat

Example

More examples

"The chimpanzee is an intelligent creature, capable of solving simple problems."

Etymology

The first recorded use of the name chimpanzee dates to 1738. The name is derived from an unspecified Bantu language of Angola (compare Vili ci-mpenzi), probably brought to the English language via French chimpanzé.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.