monkey

/ˈmʌŋki/

/ˈmʌŋki/

Other forms: monkeys; monkeying; monkeyed

A monkey is a tropical, long-tailed animal known as a "primate." If you visit India or Sri Lanka, you're almost guaranteed to see monkeys, but don't monkey around with them.

Many monkeys live in trees, although some are ground-dwelling, and increasingly many live in urban areas, scavenging food and interacting with people. Monkeys are famously playful and mischievous, and because of this, monkey is a common diminutive (or fond nickname) for impish kids, and "monkey business" is foolishness or deceitful behavior. When you monkey around, or monkey with something, you fool about or fiddle with it.

Definitions of monkey

1. noun

   any of various long-tailed primates (excluding the prosimians)
   types:

   Old World monkey, catarrhine

   of Africa or Arabia or Asia; having nonprehensile tails and nostrils close together

   New World monkey, platyrrhine, platyrrhinian

   hairy-faced arboreal monkeys having widely separated nostrils and long usually prehensile tails

   guenon, guenon monkey

   small slender African monkey having long hind limbs and tail and long hair around the face

   mangabey

   large agile arboreal monkey with long limbs and tail and white upper eyelids

   Erythrocebus patas, hussar monkey, patas

   reddish long-tailed monkey of west Africa

   baboon

   large terrestrial monkeys having doglike muzzles

   macaque

   a monkey of rocky regions of Asia and Africa

   langur

   slender long-tailed monkey of Asia

   colobus, colobus monkey

   arboreal monkey of western and central Africa with long silky fur and reduced thumbs

   Nasalis larvatus, proboscis monkey

   Borneo monkey having a long bulbous nose

   marmoset

   a small, soft-furred South American and Central American monkey with claws instead of nails

   Cebus capucinus, capuchin, ringtail

   monkey of Central America and South America having thick hair on the head that resembles a monk's cowl

   Aotus trivirgatus, douroucouli

   nocturnal monkey of Central America and South America with large eyes and thick fur

   howler, howler monkey

   monkey of tropical South American forests having a loud howling cry

   saki

   small arboreal monkey of tropical South America with long hair and bushy nonprehensile tail

   uakari

   medium-sized tree-dwelling monkey of the Amazon basin; only New World monkey with a short tail

   titi, titi monkey

   small South American monkeys with long beautiful fur and long nonprehensile tail

   Ateles geoffroyi, spider monkey

   arboreal monkey of tropical America with long slender legs and long prehensile tail

   Saimiri sciureus, squirrel monkey

   small long-tailed monkey of Central American and South America with greenish fur and black muzzle

   woolly monkey

   large monkeys with dark skin and woolly fur of the Amazon and Orinoco basins

   type of:

   primate

   any placental mammal of the order Primates; has good eyesight and flexible hands and feet
2. noun

   one who is playfully mischievous
   synonyms: imp, rapscallion, rascal, scalawag, scallywag, scamp

   types:

   brat, holy terror, little terror, terror

   a very troublesome child

   type of:

   child, fry, kid, minor, nestling, nipper, shaver, small fry, tiddler, tike, tyke, youngster

   a young person of either sex
3. verb

   do random, unplanned work or activities; spend time idly
   synonyms: futz, mess around, monkey around, muck about, muck around, potter, putter, tinker

   types:

   puddle

   mess around, as in a liquid or paste

   type of:

   work

   exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
4. verb

   play around with or alter or falsify, usually secretively or dishonestly
   synonyms: fiddle, tamper

   type of:

   manipulate

   hold something in one's hands and move it