Tarzan
//ˈtɑɹzæn// name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A strong wild man; any man showing attributes of Tarzan, as muscularity, agility, etc. broadly
""[A]s if we all like climbing around in trees, like monkeys or Tarzans.""
- 2 (sometimes used ironically) a man of great strength and agility (after the hero of a series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs) wordnet
Verb
- 1 To behave in the manner of Tarzan, especially by swinging from ropes, climbing trees, and other feats of athleticism.
"Elmo Lincoln, that mighty man of valor who Tarzaned about, has issued a challenge to Jack Dempsey, and we wish him all the luck in the world."
Proper Noun
- 1 A heroic fictional character, raised from a baby to adulthood in the African jungle by apes.
Example
More examples"Why did you decide to name your son Tarzan?"
Etymology
Coined by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912. A name created by Burroughs for his fiction. In the fictional ape language of the books, "tarzan" means "white-skin"; possibly echoic in its phonetics of various "exotic" names (see Orientalism).
Related phrases
More for "tarzan"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.