DictionaryAI

monkey

MUNG-kee/ˈmʌŋki/

Pluralmonkeys

Verbmonkeys, monkeying, monkeyed

21 meanings of monkey

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  1. 1
    animalnouncountable
    A primate, usually small with a long tail, that lives mainly in trees; loosely, any ape as well.

    A monkey can use its tail almost like a fifth limb to grip branches.

    Researchers watched how the monkeys shared fruit within the troop.

    Note

    The zoologist's monkey has a name that is a puzzle of its own. It may be monk plus the diminutive -ey, or it may come through Middle Low German from Moneke, son of Martin the Ape in Reynard the Fox. Used strictly, the word leaves out the apes, so a chimpanzee is not a monkey. Tails and cheek pouches are typical marks, not universal ones.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

  2. 2
    naughty childnouncolloquialfigurativelycountable
    A child or other person who is naughty or full of mischief.

    That cheeky monkey hid my keys again and won't tell me where.

    Their grandsons are lovable little monkeys who never stop moving.

    UsageMostly fond, often with little or cheeky: cheeky little monkey, said to a child who has been up to something.

    Similarrascal, scamp, imp, devil

    Note

    It can be aimed at an adult in mock exasperation. Algernon Blackwood has a character cry "You expensive little monkey!" over a costly telephone call. It opens a run of senses that liken people to monkeys, most of them insults, so the warmth depends on tone and relationship.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • A character in Algernon Blackwood's fiction says exactly “You expensive little monkey!” in discussion of an expensive telephone call; the speaker is Sybil, the wife's cousin, in You May Telephone From Here. gutenberg.org
  3. 3
    meddleverbcolloquialintransitive
    To meddle or interfere, especially with something one shouldn't be handling.

    Don't monkey with the thermostat; the technician just finished calibrating it.

    Someone had been monkeying with the office printer, and now it only prints blank pages.

    Similarinterfere, fiddle

  4. 4
    nounderogatoryfigurativelycountable
    A derogatory term for a person regarded as having very little intelligence.

    Only a monkey would ignore a warning printed that clearly.

    He called them monkeys for botching such a simple task.

    Similaridiot

    Oppositegenius

  5. 5
    lowly workernounslangderogatoryfigurativelycountable
    A lowly worker who performs a repetitive job supposedly requiring minimal intelligence.

    Management treated the interns as monkeys, handing them the same dull task for months.

    She quit because she was tired of being the office monkey.

    UsageOften in compounds such as code monkey and grease monkey. These can sound dismissive, though some people use them about themselves with irony.

    Similardrone, grunt, dogsbody

  6. 6
    nounslangderogatoryfigurativelycountable
    A puppet; a person controlled or directed by someone else.

    The committee chair is just a monkey; the real decisions come from the donors.

    She refused to be anyone's monkey, even when standing up to the director cost her the job.

    UsageBest known from the put-down I want to talk to the organ grinder, not the monkey, a deliberate snub to a go-between.

    Similarpuppet

    Note

    The image behind it is the organ grinder's monkey, performing for whoever turns the handle.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The controlled-person sense refers to the organ grinder's performing monkey. en.wiktionary.org
  7. 7
    racial slurnounslangethnicoffensiveslurfigurativelycountable
    A highly offensive ethnic slur for a Black person, insultingly likening them to a monkey.

    UsageSay Black person instead.

    Note

    A slur whose whole force is dehumanizing: it insults Black people by likening them to animals. It has no neutral or joking use. The same history colors the word's other human senses. Even the playful use for a mischievous child can be heard as the slur when it is aimed at a Black person, so speakers should take care with it.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The racial slur dehumanizes Black people by likening them to animals. d-nb.info

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Origin

The origin is uncertain. It may derive from 'monk' plus the diminutive suffix '-ey', or be borrowed from Middle Low German 'Moneke', the name of Martin the Ape's son in Reynard the Fox. It has also been linked to Romance forms such as Middle French 'monne' and Old French 'monnekin', possibly going back through Italian and Spanish to Arabic 'maymūn' ('baboon'); alternatively, Old French 'monnekin' may instead come from Early Middle Dutch 'mannekin' ('little man').

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

  • The origin of monkey is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
  • Monkey may derive from monk plus a diminutive suffix. repozytorium.amu.edu.pl
  • A proposed origin connects monkey with Middle Low German Moneke, Martin the Ape's son in Reynard the Fox. en.wikipedia.org
  • Proposed Romance connections include Middle French monne and Old French monnekin. en.wiktionary.org
  • The French forms may ultimately derive through Italian and Spanish from Arabic maymūn. en.wiktionary.org
  • Arabic maymūn means baboon. en.wiktionary.org
  • An alternative explanation derives Old French monnekin from Early Middle Dutch mannekin, meaning little man. en.wiktionary.org