Illustration of gibbon
: any of a family (Hylobatidae) of agile brachiating tailless apes of southeastern Asia that are the smallest and most arboreal anthropoid apes
Examples of gibbon in a Sentence
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Elsewhere, officials seized over 1,000 birds in Brazil, pangolins in Laos, Egyptian tortoises in Thailand, gibbons and cuscuses in Malaysia, and shipments of hatching eggs in Australia.
—
Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 17 Dec. 2025
There were no observations of kissing in gibbons.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 19 Nov. 2025
Forget the giraffes, gibbons and leopards.
—CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025
John Mitani is a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Michigan, whose studies over 45 years have included wild chimpanzees in Uganda and Tanzania; gibbons and orangutans in Indonesia, gorillas in Rwanda, and bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
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Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 17 Dec. 2025
There were no observations of kissing in gibbons.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 19 Nov. 2025
Forget the giraffes, gibbons and leopards.
—CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025
John Mitani is a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Michigan, whose studies over 45 years have included wild chimpanzees in Uganda and Tanzania; gibbons and orangutans in Indonesia, gorillas in Rwanda, and bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gibbon
Cite this Entry
“Gibbon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gibbon. Accessed 5 Jan. 2026.
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gibbon
noun
gib·bon
ˈgib-ən 
: any of several tailless apes of southeastern Asia that are smaller and spend more time in trees than the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orangutan
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