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monkey

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Any of different long-tailed primates.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

muhngkee

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmʌŋki

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. looselysometimes proscribed

    Any simian primate other than hominids, any monkey or ape.

  2. looselysometimes proscribed

    Any of various long-tailed primates (excluding the prosimians)

  3. strictly

    A member of the clade Simiiformes other than those in the clade Hominoidea containing apes, generally (but not universally) distinguished by small size, tails, and cheek pouches.

  4. cladistically

    Any simian including humans.

  5. The weight of a pile driver or drop hammer.

  6. A fluid consisting of hydrochloric acid and zinc, used in the process of soldering.

verb

  1. transitive

    To mimic; to ape.

  2. intransitiveinformal

    To meddle; to mess (with).

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (loosely, sometimes proscribed) Any simian primate other than hominids, any monkey or ape.

Used this way, monkey is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use monkey

  • “The small monkey quickly swung through the trees at the zoo.”

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Various

squirrel monkey

Fluid

monkey bars

Other combinations

rhesus monkeymonkey businessmonkey wrenchspider monkeygreen monkeymonkey trial

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • monkey aroundverbCompound term

    Do random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly.

  • monkey breadnounCompound term

    African gourd-like fruit with edible pulp.

  • monkey-bread treenounCompound term

    African tree having an exceedingly thick trunk and fruit that resembles a gourd and has an edible pulp called monkey bread.

  • monkey bridgenounCompound term

    A high narrow platform above a deck or in an engine room or boiler room.

  • monkey businessnounCompound term

    Mischievous or deceitful behavior.

  • monkey dognounCompound term

    European breed of small dog resembling a terrier with dark wiry hair and a tufted muzzle.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.