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# gorilla

«gorilla» in Mova's school dictionary: **the largest kind of ape, a very strong, mostly gentle…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a gorilla, gorillas)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A gorilla is the largest kind of ape, a very strong, mostly gentle animal with dark fur that lives in the forests of central Africa. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#m1)

2) Informally, a gorilla can mean a big, rough, frightening man (not kind to say). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science gorillas appear in lessons about apes, primates, habitats, food chains and endangered animals: they eat mostly plants, live in family groups led by a big male called a silverback, and are protected because they are endangered. In stories they can stand for great strength. Phrases: «mountain gorilla», «silverback gorilla», «gorilla family».

### examples

- The gorilla sat quietly eating leaves. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#x1)
- A male gorilla can weigh more than two grown men. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#x2)
- We watched the gorillas at the zoo. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#x3)
- Gorillas beat their chests to show strength or to warn others. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#x4)
- Mountain gorillas are endangered and need protection. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#x5)
- The baby gorilla clung to its mother's back. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#x6)
- Gorillas are apes, not monkeys, because they have no tail. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#x7)
- People who hunt gorillas are breaking the law. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#x8)
- The Judge was a Monkey, a large Gorilla venerable with age. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/#x9)

### note

Countable: «a gorilla», «gorillas». Homophone trap: «guerrilla» (a fighter in a small army) sounds the same. Gorillas are apes, not monkeys. Myth: gorillas are not usually aggressive; they mostly avoid trouble.

### In the corpora

- [In the 1933 film King Kong the giant gorilla was a small model moved by hand a tiny bit at a time.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/25-special-effects-and-stunts/10/)
- [Gorillas and chimps walk on all fours leaning on their knuckles, while orangutans walk on their fists or the sides of their hands.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/16-the-great-apes/11/)
- [A long, hard stare can be a challenge in gorilla language, so keepers ask visitors not to stare at the gorillas.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/84-ape-house-gorillas-and-chimpanzees/12/)
- [Gorillas and other great apes build a new nest of leaves and branches every night, or of straw in a zoo.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/84-ape-house-gorillas-and-chimpanzees/14/)
- [Scattering food in the grass makes gorillas walk and search, which is called foraging, and keeps them busy for longer.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/111-feeding-times-and-the-zoo-kitchen/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «gorilla» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gorilla/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.