bonobo

noun

bo·​no·​bo bə-ˈnō-bō  ˈbä-nə-bō 

-nō-

plural bonobos

: a rare anthropoid ape (Pan paniscus) that has a more slender build and longer limbs than the related common chimpanzee (P. troglodytes) and that inhabits a small geographic region in equatorial Africa south of the Congo River

called also pygmy chimpanzee

Examples of bonobo in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hoping to find this support for the first time, a team of researchers turned to the bonobos at the Kokolopori Community Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2025

Another thing the team did not include in their analysis is the gestures that bonobos often accompany their calls with. —ArsTechnica, 3 Apr. 2025

Chimpanzees and bonobos share nearly 99 percent of their DNA with humans. —Avery Schuyler Nunn, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2025

Taxonomic classification puts humans in the order Primates (apes, monkeys, and lemurs) and in the family Hominidae (great apes), which, in addition to humans, includes chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans. —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

bonobo

noun

bo·​no·​bo bə-ˈnō-bō; ˈbä-nə-bō  -nō- 

: a rare anthropoid ape of the genus Pan (P. paniscus) that has a more slender build and longer limbs than the related common chimpanzee (P. troglodytes)

called also pygmy chimpanzee