go ape
To completely lose it — either in wild excitement or full-scale rage.
Definitions
To completely lose it — either in wild excitement or full-scale rage. Go ape captures that moment when someone abandons all pretense of composed human behavior and goes full primal: jumping around with joy, screaming with enthusiasm, or erupting in fury depending on the context. The phrase evokes the uninhibited physicality of a primate let loose, and it works perfectly for describing fans at a concert, parents at a kid's game, or anyone pushed past their limit.
The crowd went ape when the band came back for an encore nobody expected — it was absolute chaos.
Comments
(slang) To become wildly excited or enthusiastic.
“I'm gonna ask a question and I need you guys not to go ape shit on me. If people have been theorizing for years that Peach and Rosalina were related... Then why are they so mad that they became sisters in the film”
“I'm gonna ask a question and I need you guys not to go ape shit on me. If people have been theorizing for years that Peach and Rosalina were related... Then why are they so mad that they became sisters in the film”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(slang) To become very angry.
Comments
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "go ape".
🗺️About Regional & Other slang
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "go ape" (G)
Browse all slang words starting with G.
Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- go apeshit75%
(intransitive, slang, vulgar) To behave in an extreme manner; to act without restraint, especially by becoming explosively angry.
- go crazy65%
Go crazy has two distinct uses. In its standard sense it means to suddenly behave irrationally, lose one's mind, or have a breakdown. In a slang sense used particularly in youth and hip-hop influenced contexts, it means to perform outstandingly or to be excellent — to go so hard at something that it looks like madness. The second, positive sense ('that track goes crazy') is increasingly common in informal speech and online contexts and can catch unaware listeners off guard.
- rape ape64%
(Internet slang, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) A suspected black male rapist.