APE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ape mean? 

• APE (noun)
  The noun APE has 3 senses:

1. any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all

2. someone who copies the words or behavior of another

3. person who resembles a nonhuman primate

  Familiarity information: APE used as a noun is uncommon.

• APE (verb)
  The verb APE has 2 senses:

1. imitate uncritically and in every aspect

2. represent in or produce a caricature of

  Familiarity information: APE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• APE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("ape" is a kind of...):

primate (any placental mammal of the order Primates; has good eyesight and flexible hands and feet)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ape"):

anthropoid ape (any tailless ape of the families Pongidae and Hylobatidae)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Someone who copies the words or behavior of another

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

ape; aper; copycat; emulator; imitator

Hypernyms ("ape" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ape"):

epigon; epigone (an inferior imitator of some distinguished writer, artist, or musician)

parrot (a copycat who does not understand the words or acts being imitated)

Derivation:

ape (imitate uncritically and in every aspect)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Person who resembles a nonhuman primate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

anthropoid; ape

Hypernyms ("ape" is a kind of...):

misfit (someone unable to adapt to their circumstances)

• APE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they ape    ... he / she / it apes   
Past simple: aped   
Past participle: aped   
-ing form: aping   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Imitate uncritically and in every aspect

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

Her little brother apes her behavior

Hypernyms (to "ape" is one way to...):

imitate (appear like, as in behavior or appearance)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

ape; aper (someone who copies the words or behavior of another)

apery (the act of mimicking; imitative behavior)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Represent in or produce a caricature of

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

ape; caricature

Context example:

The drawing caricatured the President

Hypernyms (to "ape" is one way to...):

mock (imitate with mockery and derision)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

And then you won't know me, sir; and I shall not be your Jane Eyre any longer, but an ape in a harlequin's jacket—a jay in borrowed plumes.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The new hyaenodont species was discovered in the same 25 million-year-old rocks as the oldest fossil evidence of the split between Old World monkeys and apes.

(Fossil discovery in Tanzania reveals ancient bobcat-sized carnivore, National Science Foundation)

Research has shown that physical exercise stimulates production of a brain-derived nerve growth factor capable of staving off brain aging in apes.

(Exercise May Help Seniors with Word, Memory Problems, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

All persons in society, all cliques in society—or, rather, nearly all persons and cliques—ape their betters.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

‘He was more like a malignant and cunning ape than a human being,’ said she, ‘and he always was, ever since he was a young man.’

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

However, they could think only of this new haul; so it was I, and not a bunch of apes, that dropped in on you in the morning.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Remains of bizarre relatives of early crocodiles, the oldest evidence for "insect farming," and tantalizing clues about the early evolution of monkeys and apes have been found.

(New dinosaur with heart-shaped tail offers clues to evolution of Africa's ecosystems, National Science Foundation)

George and Owen were singing snatches of songs and gibbering like two great apes.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At present, there are no studies that consider both cognitive data and autopsy results from the same apes to distinguish between normal and pathologic aging processes.

(New research detects Alzheimer's disease markers in nonhuman primates, National Science Foundation)

Pan troglodytes, an anthropoid ape that inhabits the tropical rain forests of Africa and is used for experimental purposes because of its susceptibility to some human diseases and in behavioral studies because of its high level of intelligence.

(Chimpanzee, NCI Thesaurus)