chimpanzee

/ˈtʃɪmpænˌzi/

/tʃɪmpænˈzi/

Other forms: chimpanzees

Chimpanzees are one of our closest ape relatives, along with bonobos. In the wild, chimpanzees live in social family groups and swing from tree to tree using their long arms.

As a human, you share 98.7 percent of your genes with chimpanzees, as well as a common ancestor. Known as chimps for short, these endangered primates have furry bodies and smooth, expressive faces. They're one of the few non-human animals that use tools, and in captivity have been taught basic sign language. Chimpanzee is from the Bantu word chimpenze, "ape."

Definitions of chimpanzee

1. noun

   intelligent somewhat arboreal ape of equatorial African forests
   synonyms: Pan troglodytes, chimp

   types:

   Pan troglodytes verus, western chimpanzee

   masked or pale-faced chimpanzees of western Africa; distantly related to the eastern and central chimpanzees; possibly a distinct species

   Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, eastern chimpanzee

   long-haired chimpanzees of east-central Africa; closely related to the central chimpanzees

   Pan troglodytes troglodytes, central chimpanzee

   black-faced chimpanzees of central Africa; closely related to eastern chimpanzees

   Pan paniscus, bonobo, pygmy chimpanzee

   a small chimpanzee of swamp forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; a threatened species

   type of:

   great ape, pongid

   any of the large anthropoid apes of the family Pongidae