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Definition of "primate" []

  • A mammal of the order Primates, which includes the anthropoids and prosimians, characterized by refined development of the hands and feet, a shortened snout, and a large brain. (noun)
  • A bishop of highest rank in a province or country. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "primate" in a sentence
  • "The term primate was at once substituted for that of metropolitan, since the archbishops of Canterbury did not claim the right to exercise an administrative authority within the see of"
  • "Coalition building is a good strategy for a subordinate male in primate societies …"
  • "These relationships, in primate societies, are maintained by grooming (which is to say, by exhibitions of care)."