: a very large typically black-colored anthropoid ape (Gorilla gorilla) of equatorial Africa that has a stocky body with broad shoulders and long arms and is less erect and has smaller ears than the chimpanzee
She hired some gorilla as her bodyguard.
the loan shark sent a couple of gorillas to “convince” him to pay up
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The five-month-old gorilla was discovered in a crate on a flight from Nigeria and was destined for Bangkok, Thailand.—Zach Wichter, USA TODAY, 13 Jan. 2025 In October 2022, Bell Limbrick informed Bohn that fans outside of the Coliseum had put a jersey of Trojans wide receiver Mario Williams on a gorilla and the image had appeared on the game’s broadcast.—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025 Recent research has indicated that tool use may have very deep roots among hominoids—the group of primates that includes gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons, bonobos and humans.—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025 The gorillas also eat three other plants that are utilized in local medicine, although the antibacterial properties of the tree bark itself may explain why gorillas here can harbor E. coli bacteria without any symptoms.—Ryan McRae, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gorilla
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Greek Gorillai, plural, a tribe of hairy women mentioned in an account of a voyage around Africa
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