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
In 2020, bonobos in Congo discovered Hysterangium bonobo, a type of fungi that allows trees to absorb key nutrients from the soil and supports the diets of other animals.
—
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 17 Apr. 2025
To conclude this, Townsend and his colleagues studied adult bonobos at the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2025
Because the genetic lines of humans and bonobos diverged more than 7 million years ago, the research suggests the roots of complex language go far deeper than had been previously believed.
—Saul Elbein, The Hill, 3 Apr. 2025
By Kate Wong edited by Jeanna Bryner Kanzi the bonobo, who learned how to communicate with humans using symbols, has died at the age of 44.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2025
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Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 17 Apr. 2025
To conclude this, Townsend and his colleagues studied adult bonobos at the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2025
Because the genetic lines of humans and bonobos diverged more than 7 million years ago, the research suggests the roots of complex language go far deeper than had been previously believed.
—Saul Elbein, The Hill, 3 Apr. 2025
By Kate Wong edited by Jeanna Bryner Kanzi the bonobo, who learned how to communicate with humans using symbols, has died at the age of 44.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bonobo
Cite this Entry
“Bonobo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bonobo. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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bonobo
noun
bo·no·bo
bə-ˈnō-bō; ˈbä-nə-bō 
-nō-
-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
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