- the largest anthropoid ape, Gorilla gorilla, inhabiting the forests of central W Africa. It is stocky and massive, with a short muzzle and coarse dark hair
- informal a large, strong, and brutal-looking man
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
go•ril•la /gəˈrɪlə/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. -las.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Mammalsthe largest manlike ape, from Africa near the equator, vegetarian and mainly living on the ground rather than in trees.
- an ugly or brutish man.
go•ril•la
(gə ril′ə),USA pronunciation n.
go•ril′la•like′, adj.
go•ril′li•an, go•ril•line
(gə ril′īn, -in),USA pronunciation adj.
go•ril′loid, adj.
- Mammalsthe largest of the anthropoid apes, Gorilla gorilla, terrestrial and vegetarian, of western equatorial Africa and the Kivu highlands, comprising the subspecies G. g. gorilla (western lowland gorilla,) G. g. graueri (eastern lowland gorilla,) and G. g. beringei (mountain gorilla): now rare.
- an ugly, brutish person.
- Slang Termsa hoodlum or thug, esp. one who threatens or inflicts violence.
- Greek Goríllās (accusative plural) name for a race of hairy women in Hanno's account of his voyage along the coast of Africa (5th century b.cognate with)
- Neo-Latin
- 1790–1800;
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
gorilla /ɡəˈrɪlə/ n
'gorilla' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):