ape

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ape

(āp)

1. Any of various tailless Old World primates of the superfamily Hominoidea, including the gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans.

2. Any of various members of this superfamily bearing fur and usually living in the wild, especially orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees, in contrast to humans. Not in scientific use.

3. A tailed primate such as a monkey. Not in scientific use.

4. A mimic or imitator.

5. Informal A clumsy or boorish person.

tr.v. aped, ap·ing, apes

To imitate or mimic, especially in a thoughtless or inept way. See Synonyms at imitate.

Idiom:

go ape Informal

To become wildly excited or angry: went ape at the party; went ape when she saw the parking ticket.

[Middle English, from Old English apa.]

ap′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ape

(eɪp)

1. (Zoology) any of various primates, esp those of the family Pongidae, in which the tail is very short or absent. See anthropoid ape See also great ape

2. (Animals) any of various primates, esp those of the family Pongidae, in which the tail is very short or absent. See anthropoid ape See also great ape

3. (Animals) (not in technical use) any monkey

4. an imitator; mimic

5. informal US a coarse, clumsy, or rude person

(tr) to imitate

[Old English apa; related to Old Saxon ape, Old Norse api, Old High German affo]

ˈapeˌlike adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ape

(eɪp)

n., v. aped, ap•ing. n.

1. any of a group of anthropoid primates characterized by long arms, a broad chest, and the absence of a tail, comprising the great apes and lesser apes.

2. (loosely) any monkey.

3. an imitator; mimic.

4. a large, clumsy, or coarse person.

v.t.

5. to imitate; mimic.

Idioms:

1. go ape, Slang. to become violently emotional.

2. go ape over, to be extremely enthusiastic about.

[before 900; Middle English; Old English apa, c. Old Saxon apo, Old High German affo, Old Norse api]

ape

(āp)

Any of various large, tailless primates having long arms and broad chests. Apes include the chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan. They live in the wild only in the Eastern Hemisphere. Compare monkey.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ape

Past participle: aped
Gerund: aping

Imperative
ape
ape

Present
I ape
you ape
he/she/it apes
we ape
you ape
they ape

Preterite
I aped
you aped
he/she/it aped
we aped
you aped
they aped

Present Continuous
I am aping
you are aping
he/she/it is aping
we are aping
you are aping
they are aping

Present Perfect
I have aped
you have aped
he/she/it has aped
we have aped
you have aped
they have aped

Past Continuous
I was aping
you were aping
he/she/it was aping
we were aping
you were aping
they were aping

Past Perfect
I had aped
you had aped
he/she/it had aped
we had aped
you had aped
they had aped

Future
I will ape
you will ape
he/she/it will ape
we will ape
you will ape
they will ape

Future Perfect
I will have aped
you will have aped
he/she/it will have aped
we will have aped
you will have aped
they will have aped

Future Continuous
I will be aping
you will be aping
he/she/it will be aping
we will be aping
you will be aping
they will be aping

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been aping
you have been aping
he/she/it has been aping
we have been aping
you have been aping
they have been aping

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been aping
you will have been aping
he/she/it will have been aping
we will have been aping
you will have been aping
they will have been aping

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been aping
you had been aping
he/she/it had been aping
we had been aping
you had been aping
they had been aping

Conditional
I would ape
you would ape
he/she/it would ape
we would ape
you would ape
they would ape

Past Conditional
I would have aped
you would have aped
he/she/it would have aped
we would have aped
you would have aped
they would have aped

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	ape - any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all primate - any placental mammal of the order Primates; has good eyesight and flexible hands and feet anthropoid ape - any tailless ape of the families Pongidae and Hylobatidae
	2.	ape - someone who copies the words or behavior of another aper, copycat, emulator, imitator individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" epigon, epigone - an inferior imitator of some distinguished writer or artist of musician parrot - a copycat who does not understand the words or acts being imitated
	3.	ape - person who resembles a nonhuman primate anthropoid misfit - someone unable to adapt to their circumstances
Verb	1.	ape - imitate uncritically and in every aspect; "Her little brother apes her behavior" imitate - appear like, as in behavior or appearance; "Life imitate art"
	2.	ape - represent in or produce a caricature of; "The drawing caricatured the President" caricature mock - imitate with mockery and derision; "The children mocked their handicapped classmate"

ape

verb imitate, copy, mirror, echo, mock, parrot, mimic, parody, caricature, affect, counterfeit These films merely ape Hollywood.

go ape be furious, storm, rage, rave, blow up (informal), fume, be angry, lose it (informal), fret, seethe, crack up (informal), see red (informal), chafe, lose the plot (informal), go ballistic (slang, chiefly U.S.), rant and rave, foam at the mouth, lose your temper, blow a fuse (slang, chiefly U.S.), fly off the handle (informal), be incandescent, go off the deep end (informal), throw a fit (informal), go up the wall (slang), blow your top, lose your rag (slang), be beside yourself, flip your lid (slang) When he found out, he went ape.

Related words
collective noun shrewdness

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

ape

verb

To copy (the manner or expression of another), especially in an exaggerated or mocking way:

burlesque, caricature, imitate, mimic, mock, parody, travesty.

Idiom: do a takeoff on.

Translations

aap

قِرْد

маймуна

opice

abe

Menschenaffe Affe

μαϊμού

mono

ahv

apinaapinoidaihmisapinamatkia

singe

emberszabású majommajom

apiapa eftir

scimmia

beždžionėžmogbeždžionė

pērtiķis

aapapinmensaap

ape

imitar macaco

обезьяна передразнивать

opica

маjмун

apamänniskoapa

insansı maymunmaymun

мавпа

无尾猴类人猿

ape

[eɪp]

A. N

1. (Zool) → mono m, simio m, antropoide mf
to go ape (US) (= lose one's temper) → ponerse como un energúmeno, ponerse hecho una fiera; (= go crazy) → ponerse como una moto

2. (= person) you (great) ape! → ¡bestia!

B. VT → imitar, remedar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ape

[ˈeɪp]

→ (grand) singe m
to go ape (= get angry) [person] → péter les plombs

vt (= imitate) → singer

ape

n (lit, fig) → Affe m; to go ape (inf) → ausflippen (inf)

vt → nachäffen (pej), → nachmachen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ape

[eɪp]

1. n (esp anthropoid) → scimmia
to go ape (Am) (fam) → diventare stupido/a

2. vt → scimmiottare

ape

(eip) noun

a large monkey with little or no tail.

References in classic literature ?

"You were born an ape. You lived naked in the jungles--to your own we have returned you; but your son shall rise a step above his sire.

Whereas, a few years since, he would have met the brute rush with brute force, he now sidestepped his antagonist's headlong charge, and as the brute hurtled past him swung a mighty right to the pit of the ape's stomach.

View in context

With a start he sat up to see a huge, anthropoid ape squatting at his side, inspecting him intently.

The Russian told them that the ape was his--nothing further would he offer--but kept harping continually upon the same theme, "The ape is mine.

View in context

Then Tarzan released his hold and arose--he did not wish to kill, only to teach the young ape, and others who might be watching, that Tarzan of the Apes was still master.

He had started life an ape--as an ape he would die.

View in context

You would not have guessed that in infancy he had suckled at the breast of a hideous, hairy she-ape, nor that in all his conscious past since his parents had passed away in the little cabin by the landlocked harbor at the jungle's verge, he had known no other associates than the sullen bulls and the snarling cows of the tribe of Kerchak, the great ape.

View in context

Here's the divining ape and the show of the Release of Melisendra just coming."

View in context

Zu-tag hunted alone far from the balance of the tribe of Go-lat, the great ape. Zu-tag (Big-neck) was a young bull but recently arrived at maturity.

View in context

With swelling breast, he placed a foot upon the body of his powerful enemy, and throwing back his fine young head, roared out the awful challenge of the victorious bull ape.

View in context

Again was he Tarzan of the Apes, sentient, vigilant, ready.

View in context

TWO MEN, one who always spoke the truth and the other who told nothing but lies, were traveling together and by chance came to the land of Apes. One of the Apes, who had raised himself to be king, commanded them to be seized and brought before him, that he might know what was said of him among men.