great ape

noun

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

"great-ape" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“great ape” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A large non-human primate, such as a gorilla, an orangutan, or a chimpanzee.

Key facts for great ape
PropertyValue
Headwordgreat ape
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “great ape” sits in English frequency

great ape falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for great ape is 9 letters long, classified as a noun. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for great ape in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is great ape, spelled G-R-E-A-T- -A-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A large non-human primate, such as a gorilla, an orangutan, or a chimpanzee.
  2. 2
    Any member of the taxonomic family Hominidae, including gorilla, orangutan, chimpanzee, excluding Homo.
  3. 3
    Any member of the taxonomic family Hominidae, including Homo, and also many similar extinct species.

Synonyms

great ape

This word in other languages

homínido(Español)hominidé(Français)Menschenaffe(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "great ape"?
"great ape" is spelled G-R-E-A-T- -A-P-E.
What does "great ape" mean?
As a noun, "great ape" means: A large non-human primate, such as a gorilla, an orangutan, or a chimpanzee.
What language does "great ape" come from?
"great ape" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “great ape”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-R-E-A-T- -A-P-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list