baboon

noun

ba·​boon ba-ˈbün 

 chiefly British  bə-

: any of a genus (Papio) of large gregarious primates of Africa and southwestern Asia having a long square naked muzzle

also : any of several closely related primates

Illustration of baboon

Examples of baboon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Once the fires have swept through, the chimpanzees have their pick of cooked critters on a charred landscape cleared of predators, just like the baboons in the forests of Uganda who have been seen foraging for cooked grasshoppers and shoots after fire passes by. —Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025

Off somewhere, bull baboons are raising their woofing grunts again. —Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025

This was due to publications like Solly Zuckerman’s The Social Life of Monkeys and Apes, based partly on observations of baboons housed in unnatural and stressful London zoos. —Rj MacKenzie, Popular Science, 28 Aug. 2025

This month a Nuremberg Zoo in Germany killed 12 baboons due to overcrowding and dismembered six of them before feeding them to predators. —Miriam Porter, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English babewin, from Middle French babouin, from baboue grimace

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing baboon

• baboon spider
• chacma baboon
• gelada baboon
• hamadryas baboon
• sacred baboon

Rhymes for baboon

• attune
• balloon
• bassoon
• buffoon
• cartoon
• cocoon
• festoon
• gaboon
• harpoon
• immune
• impugn
• jejune

Kids Definition

baboon

noun

ba·​boon ba-ˈbün 

: any of several large African and Asian monkeys having long squarish muzzles and usually short tails