Man - Definition of Man

8/30/2019 man | Deﬁnition of man by Lexico
DICTIONARY THESAURUS GRAMMAR EXPLORE MORE DICTIONARIES
DICTIONARY man
WORD OF THE DAY
venturesome
Home British & World English man
New
De nition of man in English:
man
NOUN (men)
1 An adult human male. Learning English? Explore These

‘a small man with mischievous eyes’ English Word Lists
New
‘the men's semi- nals’
More example sentences Synonyms
1.1 A male member of a workforce, team, etc.
‘over 700 men were made redundant’

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1.2 (men) Ordinary members of the armed These Spanish Resources
forces as distinct from the o cers.
‘he had a platoon of forty men to prepare
for battle’
1.3 A husband or lover.
‘the two of them lived for a time as man

and wife’
1.4 [with modi er] A male person associated

with a particular place, activity, or
occupation. 'Using the Passive'
‘a Cambridge man’
Which of these is written in the
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‘I'm a solid Labour man’ passive?

More example sentences
The toy was played with
DICTIONARY man MENU
The cat played with the toy
https://www.lexico.com/en/deﬁnition/man 1/10
1.5 A person with the qualities associated

with males, such as bravery, spirit, or NEXT 0/10
toughness.
‘she was more of a man than any of them’
TRENDING WORDS
1.6 A male pursued or sought by another, Most popular in the world

especially in connection with a crime.
‘Inspector Bull was sure they would nd 1. undy
their man’
2. rotunda
3. talk to the hand

1.7 dated A manservant or valet.
4. substantiation
‘get me a cocktail, my man’
Synonyms 5. sting
1.8 historical A vassal.
‘By taking service in William's army he

had become the man of the Duke of the
Normans.’
2 A human being of either sex; a person.

‘God cares for all men’
2.1 [in singular] Human beings in general; the

human race.
‘places untouched by the ravages of man’
2.2 [in singular] An individual; one.
‘a man could buy a lot with eighteen

million dotillars’
2.3 [in singular, with adjective or noun modi er]

A type of prehistoric human named after
the place where the remains were found.
‘Cro-Magnon man’
3 (the Man) informal A group or person in a

position of authority over others, such as a
corporate employer or the police.
‘they've mastered their emotive grunge-pop
without haggling with the Man’
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3.1 informal White people collectively
DICTIONARY regarded as the controlling group in

man MENU
society.
‘he urged that black college athletes

boycott the Man's Rose Bowl’
4 A gure or token used in playing a board

game.
‘Mr Kravchuk, who prides himself on his
chess-playing prowess, did not give up his
man easily.’
VERB (mans, manning, manned)
[WITH OBJECT]
1 (of personnel) work at, run, or operate (a place

or piece of equipment) or defend (a
forti cation)
‘the helpline is manned by trained sta ’
‘the remen manned the pumps and fought
the blaze’
1.1 Provide someone to ll (a post)
‘the chaplaincy was formerly manned by

the cathedral’
Synonyms
2 archaic Fortify the spirits or courage of.

‘he manned himself with dauntless air’
EXCLAMATION
North American informal

Used, irrespective of the sex of the person
addressed, to express surprise, admiration,
delight, etc., or for emphasis.
‘wow, like cosmic, man’
Usage
Traditionally, the word man has been used to
refer not only to adult males but also to human
beings in general, regardless of sex. There is a
historical explanation for this: in Old English, the
principal sense of man was ‘a human being’, and
the words wer and wif were used to refer
speci cally to ‘a male person’ and ‘a female
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person’, respectively. Subsequently, man replaced

wer as the normal term for ‘a male person’, but at
the same time the older sense ‘a human being’
remained in use. In the second half of the 20th
DICTIONARY man MENU
century, the generic use of man to refer to
‘human beings in general’ (as in reptiles were here

long before man appeared on the earth) became
problematic; the use is now often regarded as
sexist or old-fashioned. In some contexts, terms
such as the human race or humankind may be
used instead of man or mankind. Certain xed
phrases and sayings, such as time and tide wait
for no man can be easily rephrased (e.g., time and
tide wait for no one). Alternatives for other
related terms exist as well: the noun manpower,
for example, can usually be replaced with sta or
crew, and in most cases, the verbal form to man
can be expressed as to sta or to operate
Phrases
as one man
With everyone acting together or in
agreement.
‘the crowd rose to their feet as one man’

as — as the next man

As — as the average person.
‘I'm as ambitious as the next man’

be someone's (or the) man

Be the person perfectly suited to a particular
requirement or task.
‘if it's war you want, I'm your man’

be man enough to do (or for)

Be brave enough to do.
‘he has not been man enough to face up to his

responsibilities’
make a man out of someone

(of an experience or person) turn a young man
into a mature adult.
‘swimming will make a man out of you’

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every man for himself

proverb
Everyone should (or does) look after their own
interests rather than considering those of
DICTIONARY man
others. MENU
‘in previous student ats she'd shared, it was

every man for himself’
man about town

A fashionable male socialite.
‘in a well-cut black suit he looked quite the

man about town’
the man in the moon

1 The imagined likeness of a face seen on the
surface of a full moon.
1.1 Used to refer to someone regarded as out

of touch with real life.
‘a kid with no more idea of what to do
than the man in the moon’
man and boy

From childhood.
‘I've been with this company man and boy’

the man in black

Soccer
informal
The referee.
‘I would not put it past the men in black to get

things horribly wrong’
the man in (or on) the street

The average man.
‘he had been his eyes and ears in the

community, voiced the opinions of the man in
the street’
man of God
1 A clergyman.
1.1 A holy man or saint.
‘No, this was Isaiah, from all indication in

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the record of Scripture a holy man, a man

of God, what would be termed a dedicated
Christian.’
DICTIONARY man MENU

man of the cloth
A clergyman.
the man in white

Australian Rules Football
informal
An umpire, especially a eld umpire.
‘he's constantly on the wrong side of the

whistle of the man in white’
man of honour
A man who adheres to what is right or to a
high standard of conduct.
‘as a man of honour he had little alternative

but to accompany his friend to America’
man of letters
A male scholar or author.
‘he wished to fashion for himself a career as a

man of letters’
man of the match

British
The team member who has given the most
outstanding performance in a particular game.
‘McClair, who scored the only goal, was named

man of the match’
man of the moment

A man of importance at a particular time.
man of straw
1 A person regarded as having no substance or
integrity.
‘a leader who was once derided as a man of

straw’
2 A person undertaking a nancial commitment

without adequate means.
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the man on the Clapham omnibus

DICTIONARY man
British MENU
The average man, especially with regard to his

opinions.
‘his was not a voice in the wilderness; he was

speaking for the man on the Clapham
omnibus’
man of the house

The male head of a household.
a man's man
A man who is more popular and at ease with
other men than with women.
‘he looks o ended when I tell him he is

perceived as a man's man’
men in (grey) suits

Powerful men within an organization who
exercise their authority anonymously.
‘the prime minister was removed from Ten

Downing Street by men in grey suits’
man to man
1 In a direct and frank way between two men.
‘he was able to talk man to man with the

delegates’
2 Denoting a defensive tactic in soccer or other

sport in which each player is responsible for
marking one opponent.
‘the best man-to-man marker in the game’

man's best friend

An a ectionate or approving way of referring
to dogs.
‘a collection of photographs of man's best

friend’
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my (or my good or my dear) man

British dated
A patronizing form of address to a man.
DICTIONARY ‘come
mano it, my man, who d'you think you're MENU
talking to?’
separate (or sort out) the men from the boys

informal
Show or prove which people in a group are
truly competent, brave, or mature.
‘this match will separate the men from the

boys’
to a man
Without exception.
‘to a man, we all took a keen interest in the

business’
Phrasal Verbs
man up
US informal
Be brave or tough enough to deal with an
unpleasant situation.
‘you just have to man up and take it’

Origin
Old English man(n), (plural) menn (noun),
mannian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to
Dutch man, German Mann, and Sanskrit manu
‘mankind’.
Pronunciation
man /man/
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DICTIONARY man MENU

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8/30/2019 man | Deﬁnition of man by Lexico

DICTIONARY THESAURUS GRAMMAR EXPLORE MORE DICTIONARIES

WORD OF THE DAY

De nition of man in English:

1 An adult human male. Learning English? Explore These

1.1 A male member of a workforce, team, etc.

‘over 700 men were made redundant’

1.3 A husband or lover.

‘the two of them lived for a time as man

1.4 [with modi er] A male person associated

‘I'm a solid Labour man’ passive?

1.5 A person with the qualities associated

1.6 A male pursued or sought by another, Most popular in the world

3. talk to the hand

1.8 historical A vassal.

‘By taking service in William's army he

2 A human being of either sex; a person.

2.1 [in singular] Human beings in general; the

2.2 [in singular] An individual; one.

‘a man could buy a lot with eighteen

2.3 [in singular, with adjective or noun modi er]

3 (the Man) informal A group or person in a

More example sentences

3.1 informal White people collectively

DICTIONARY regarded as the controlling group in

‘he urged that black college athletes

4 A gure or token used in playing a board

VERB (mans, manning, manned)

1 (of personnel) work at, run, or operate (a place

1.1 Provide someone to ll (a post)

‘the chaplaincy was formerly manned by

2 archaic Fortify the spirits or courage of.

North American informal

person’, respectively. Subsequently, man replaced

‘human beings in general’ (as in reptiles were here

‘the crowd rose to their feet as one man’

as — as the next man

‘I'm as ambitious as the next man’

be someone's (or the) man

‘if it's war you want, I'm your man’

be man enough to do (or for)

‘he has not been man enough to face up to his

make a man out of someone

‘swimming will make a man out of you’

every man for himself

‘in previous student ats she'd shared, it was

man about town

‘in a well-cut black suit he looked quite the

the man in the moon

1.1 Used to refer to someone regarded as out

man and boy

‘I've been with this company man and boy’

the man in black

‘I would not put it past the men in black to get

the man in (or on) the street

‘he had been his eyes and ears in the

More example sentences

1.1 A holy man or saint.

‘No, this was Isaiah, from all indication in

the record of Scripture a holy man, a man

DICTIONARY man MENU

the man in white

‘he's constantly on the wrong side of the