ape

/eɪp/

//eɪp// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ape" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ape” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #15,334) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#15,334
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A primate of the superfamily Hominoidea, generally larger than monkeys and distinguished from them by having no tail.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ape · ape · English

ape · rank #15,334 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,334
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH anyhow

Nearest frequency peer: anyhow (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “ape”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “ape” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ape vs as
33% similar
ape vs at
33% similar
ape vs aw
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ape
PropertyValue
Headwordape
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/eɪp/
Letters3
Frequency rank#15,334
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “ape”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).apelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “anyhow” (#15,333), “arrivals” (#15,335), “antiques” (#15,332). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “ape” is #15,334. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ape is neighbouring look-alikes ("as", "at", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /eɪp/. Frequency #15,334 among 3,931 “A” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ape, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "as", "at", "aw", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ape, from Old English apa (“ape, monkey”), from Proto-West Germanic *apō, from Proto-Germanic *apô (“monkey, ape”), possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”), compare Proto-Celtic *abū (“river”) (hence English place name… The correct English form is ape, spelled A-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A primate of the superfamily Hominoidea, generally larger than monkeys and distinguished from them by having no tail.
  2. 2
    Any such primate other than a human.
  3. 3
    An unintelligent or unsophisticated person, especially one who behaves irrationally or in an uncivilised manner.
  4. 4
    One who apes; a foolish imitator.
  5. 5
    A black person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how ape appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Of vvhat texte thou proveſt hell / vvill a nother prove purgatory / a nother lymbo patrum / and a nother the aſſumpcion of oure ladi: And a nother ſhall prove of the ſame texte that an Ape hath a tayle.

Etymology

From Middle English ape, from Old English apa (“ape, monkey”), from Proto-West Germanic *apō, from Proto-Germanic *apô (“monkey, ape”), possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”), compare Proto-Celtic *abū (“river”) (hence English place name Avon, Irish abha, Welsh afon), if the word originally referred to a "water sprite". Traditionally assumed to be an ancient loanword instead, ultimately probably from an unidentified non-Indo-European language of regions in Africa or Asia where monkeys are native. Cognate with Scots aip (“ape”), West Frisian aap (“ape”), Dutch aap (“monkey, ape”), Low German Ape (“ape”), German Affe (“monkey, ape”), Swedish apa (“monkey, ape”), Icelandic api (“ape”).

Synonyms

ape

This word in other languages

simio(Español)singe(Français)Affe(Deutsch)símio(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ape"?
"ape" is spelled A-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is /eɪp/.
What does "ape" mean?
As a noun, "ape" means: A primate of the superfamily Hominoidea, generally larger than monkeys and distinguished from them by having no tail.
What words are commonly confused with "ape"?
"ape" is commonly confused with "as", "at", "aw". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ape"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ape" is /eɪp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ape"?
From Middle English ape, from Old English apa (“ape, monkey”), from Proto-West Germanic *apō, from Proto-Germanic *apô (“monkey, ape”), possibly derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”), compare Proto-Celtic *abū (“river”) (hence English ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ape", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ama#15,325ACA#15,316wen#15,307tao#15,289

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list