What does "ape" mean?
Ape: One who imitates servilely (in allusion to the manners of the ape); a mimic. Byron.
Additional senses
- 2.A dupe. [Obs.] Chaucer.
- 3.To mimic, as an ape imitates human actions; to imitate or follow servilely or irrationally. "How he apes his sire." Addison. The people of England will not ape the fashions they have never tried. Burke.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00