1. In religion, an archbishop or bishop ranking first among the bishops of a province or country: The church service to celebrate the completion of the new water works for the town was lead by the local primate who was assisted by several men and women from the community.
2. Any of various mammals which share common characteristics: Primates have the ability to use their hands for tasks, have oppositional thumbs, are able to climb, have eyes at the front of the face in order to judge distances, and include a tendency towards social behavior and interactions.

Animal primates occupy a wide range of habitats and show a wide diversity of adaptations to their contrasting environments:

• There are terrestrial primates as well as arboreal ones.
• Some primates are active at night as well as by day.
• There are primates that are specialized insectivores as well as fruit-eaters and leaf-eaters.
• As a result, virtually all aspects of primates vary widely from species to species.