baboon

UK /bəˈbuːn/ US /bæˈbuːn/ Syllables: ba-boon

Pronunciation

Noun A1 Beginner Neutral

A large monkey with a long snout, found in Africa and Arabia, that lives in groups.

A baboon is a large monkey with a long, dog-like face, a short tail and strong arms. It lives in Africa and parts of Arabia and moves across the ground in groups called troops. Baboons eat fruit, grass, insects and sometimes small animals. They spend the day looking for food and the night in trees or on cliffs. The word is also used in everyday speech for a rude or silly person, though that use is old-fashioned.

"A troop of baboons crossed the road in front of our jeep."

Example sentences

"The baboon sat on a rock and watched the road."

Level A2
"A troop of baboons crossed the field."

Level B1
"The baboon has a long, dog-like face."

Level B1
"We saw baboons on our trip to the park."

Level A2

Look-alikes and common mistakes

monkey : Monkey is the general word. A baboon is a large kind that lives mostly on the ground.
ape : An ape has no tail, like a gorilla. A baboon has a tail, so it is a monkey.

Word family and forms

Forms: baboons

monkey primate troop

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "baboon".

a troop of baboons
a male baboon
a baboon's face
wild baboons
an olive baboon
a baboon's red face

Origin

Baboon came into English in the 1300s from Old French babouin, which was formed from a French word meaning a grimace or a muzzle, and probably from an imitative sound. At first it meant a grotesque figure, like a gargoyle, before it became the name of the animal.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Baboon has two o's like boon and moon. Say it as ba-BOON.

Test yourself

Which word fits the gap? "The _____ sat on a rock and watched the road."

Answer: baboon

In your own words, what does "baboon" mean?