monkey Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any of various long-tailed primates (excluding the prosimians)
  2. noun one who is playfully mischievous
    rascal; rapscallion; scallywag; imp; scamp; scalawag.
  3. verb play around with or alter or falsify, usually secretively or dishonestly
    tamper; fiddle.
    • Someone tampered with the documents on my desk
    • The reporter fiddle with the facts
  4. verb do random, unplanned work or activities or spend time idly
    monkey around; mess around; putter; potter; tinker; muck around; muck about.
    • The old lady is usually mucking about in her little house

WordNet

Mon"key noun
Etymology
Cf. OIt. monicchio, It. monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr. fr. madonna. See Madonna.
Wordforms
plural Monkeys
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) (a) In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana, including apes, baboons, and lemurs. (b) Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs. (c) Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of apes and baboons. ✍ The monkeys are often divided into three groups: (a) Catarrhines, or Simidæ. These have an oblong head, with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old World. (b) Platyrhines, or Cebidæ. These have a round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not opposable. These are natives of the New World. (c) Strepsorhines, or Lemuroidea. These have a pointed head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.
  2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for mischievous child.
    This is the monkey's own giving out; she is persuaded I will marry her. Shak.
  3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging.
  4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.
Mon"key transitive verb & intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To act or treat as a monkey does; to ape; to act in a grotesque or meddlesome manner. = monkey around with

Webster 1913