monkey bar

Meanings

1. 1nounusually plural

   One of the rungs on a horizontal ladder or climbing frame in a playground, which children grip with their hands to swing across.

   Grammar: Usually monkey bars, treated as a plural: the monkey bars are wet; one bar is rarely mentioned alone.

   Patterns

   • swing across the monkey bars
   • hang from the monkey bars

   Mia can now cross the monkey bars without letting her feet touch the ground.

   The monkey bars were slippery after the rain.

   He grabbed the first monkey bar and began to swing.

2. 2nounusually plural

   In fitness and training, a similar overhead ladder used to build grip, shoulder and upper-body strength.

   Grammar: Also used as a workout name: monkey bars training.

   Patterns

   • train on the monkey bars

   The obstacle course finished with a long set of monkey bars over a pool of mud.

   Climbers use monkey bars at the gym to strengthen their grip.

   Adult monkey bars are common in outdoor fitness parks.

Word forms

Common combinations

swing across the monkey bars

She swung across the monkey bars faster than anyone in her class.

hang from the monkey bars

The boys hung from the monkey bars by their knees.

play on the monkey bars

We used to play on the monkey bars after school.

fall off the monkey bars

He fell off the monkey bars and scraped his elbow.

a set of monkey bars

The new park has a set of monkey bars for older kids.

Synonyms and how they differ

climbing frame

This British term covers a whole structure of bars to climb on, while monkey bars are specifically a ladder you cross by hand.

jungle gym

Jungle gym is the American word for a larger climbing structure, whereas monkey bars are only the overhead part.

horizontal ladder

This is the plain descriptive name, and it sounds more technical than the playful monkey bars.

Word family

monkey noun

a climbing animal with a tail, from which the equipment gets its name

bar noun

a long straight rod or rung of metal or wood

monkey around phrasal verb

to play or fool about

Commonly confused: monkey bar or parallel bars?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “monkey bar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words