monkey Hear it!

monkey Definition

mon·key (muŋ′kē)

noun pl. -·keys

    1. any of several families of Old and New World primates usually having a flat, hairless face and a long tail
    2. loosely any of other, similar primates, as a gibbon or chimpanzee
  2. the fur of some species of long-haired monkeys
  3. a person regarded as somehow like a monkey, as a mischievous or imitative child
  4. any of various mechanical devices, as the iron block raised and dropped in a pile driver

Etymology: Early ModE, prob. < or akin to MLowG Moneke, name applied in the beast epic Reynard the Fox to the son of Martin the Ape < Fr or Sp mona, ape < ? Ar maimūn, ape, lit., lucky (euphemism: the ape was regarded as the devil) + LowG -ke, -kin

intransitive verb

☆ Informal to play, fool, trifle, or meddle: often followed by around, with, or around with

transitive verb

Rare to mimic; ape

monkey Idioms

a monkey on one's back

☆ Slang
  1. addiction to a drug
  2. any trying, burdensome obsession, problem, etc.

make a monkey (out) of

☆

to make appear foolish or laughable

monkey* Synonyms

monkey*

n.

  1. primate, lemur, anthropoid ape; see animal 2.

    Types of monkeys include: marmoset, tamarin; capuchin, squirrel, howler, spider, woolly, macaque, baboon, mandrill, drill, mangabey, guenon, vervet, redtail, blue, colobus, leaf, proboscis.

  2. Primates resembling monkeys include: gibbon, chimpanzee, orangutan, gorilla.

a monkey on one's back

addiction, compulsion, need; see obsession.

monkey Synonyms

monkey

v.

pry, fool around, tamper with; see meddle 2.

monkey Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • spank: You will be told how many MPH you spanked the monkey at.
  • infect: For 10 years, they infected monkeys, rabbits and mice with HIV, but they never could duplicate AIDS in these species.

Adjective modifier

  • cheeky: There is also a fine figure in a pulpit, and a cheeky monkey.
  • wooly: In 1994 a boy came to our house with a baby wooly monkey sitting on his shoulder.
  • artic: Well a little known band called the Artic Monkeys ( pictured above ) has blown that theory out of the water.
  • winged: He had once met the Winged Monkeys in the Land of the West, and he did not wish to meet them again.
  • Colombian: Colombian black-faced spider monkeys live in the mature rain forest of Colombia.
  • hundredth: Let's further suppose that later that evening the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.. .

Modifies a noun

  • wrench: He loved to play villains who came onstage always at the worst moment, throwing a monkey wrench into the plot.
  • chant: For example, it took me 18 years to realize that Everton fans were doing very loud monkey chants to John Fashanu.
  • puzzle: There used to be a monkey puzzle tree in the garden.
  • kidney: Between 1955 and 1963, millions of people were exposed to monkey virus SV40 through contaminated oral polio vaccines made from monkey kidneys.
  • sanctuary: Monkey Sanctuary - Home to a colony of wooly monkeys, the Sanctuary accepts several dozen volunteers a year.
  • god: She is kidnaped by the demon king Ravana but is later freed by Rama with the help of the monkey god Hanuman.

Noun used with modifier

  • rhesus: They did however, using a rhesus monkey model, find a slight enhancement in electrical responses.
  • howler: We saw a howler monkey on the island which can be reached from the bridge.
  • colobus: Colobus monkeys have long, smooth, shiny fur all over their body.
  • capuchin: Assuming that Terri really was a capuchin monkey, Alison agreed to give the monkey a new home.
  • macaque: I loved doing research, studying dominance behavior and personality in a group of macaque monkeys.
  • vervet: Vervet monkeys give different sorts of alarm calls according to the danger they perceive.