: 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
Recent Examples on the WebSave for appearing in a 2023 Discovery Channel documentary on gorillas, DeGeneres has mostly laid low since the end of her show.—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024 The Fort Worth Zoo tried to find a surrogate mother among other females among the Fort Worth gorillas with no success.—James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gorilla
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gorilla.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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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