Illustration of orangutan
orangutan
noun
orang·u·tan
ə-ˈraŋ-ə-ˌtaŋ 
-ˈraŋ-gə-,
-ˌtan
: any of several largely herbivorous arboreal anthropoid apes (Pongo pygmaeus, P. abelii, and P. tapanuliensis) of Borneo and Sumatra that are about ²/₃ as large as the gorilla and have brown skin, long sparse reddish-brown hair, and very long arms
Examples of orangutan in a Sentence
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Born in late February, the baby male orangutan can be found at the Indianapolis Zoo's Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center.
—
John Tufts, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The team hopes to place the baby orangutan with a foster mother at the zoo.
—Brooke Baitinger, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2025
Kota, the zoo's youngest male orangutan, started showing signs of lethargy and continued to decline despite efforts of zoo veterinary and animal care staff to administer care, the zoo said in the release.
—Harley Walls, Arkansas Online, 28 June 2025
Images released by authorities showed one of the orangutans in a plastic basket, wearing a diaper and hugging a soft toy alongside feeding bottles.
—Kocha Olarn, CNN Money, 16 May 2025
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John Tufts, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
The team hopes to place the baby orangutan with a foster mother at the zoo.
—Brooke Baitinger, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2025
Kota, the zoo's youngest male orangutan, started showing signs of lethargy and continued to decline despite efforts of zoo veterinary and animal care staff to administer care, the zoo said in the release.
—Harley Walls, Arkansas Online, 28 June 2025
Images released by authorities showed one of the orangutans in a plastic basket, wearing a diaper and hugging a soft toy alongside feeding bottles.
—Kocha Olarn, CNN Money, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for orangutan
Cite this Entry
“Orangutan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orangutan. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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