Definition of "silverback" []

• A mature male gorilla having silvery white hair across the back. (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.

• "They live in families, each headed by an adult male called a silverback because of its distinctive coloring."
• "There's nine gorillas in this group and every gorilla group is leaded by an adult male called a silverback, the silverback right over there, the distinctive coloring on his back."
• "But the zoo's gorillas already are in three "families," each made up of one sexually mature male, called a silverback, and several females and their offspring."