English
male
Pronunciation
  • (British, America) enPR: māl, IPA: /meɪl/
Adjective

male (not comparable)

  1. Belonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it. [from 14th c.]
    male writers
    the leading male and female singers
    a male bird feeding a seed to a female
    in bee colonies, all drones are male
    intersex male patients
    • 1995, Gill Van Hasselt, Childbirth: Your Choices for Managing Pain (Taylor Pub, ISBN 9780878339020):
      We got the hang of [caring for a baby], Kate and I, with some quiet, surprising guidance from a gentle male nurse whose touching lack of intrusion was so instinctive as to seem part of the pattern.
    • 2016, Tobias Raun, Out Online (ISBN 1317084675):
      Whereas many other trans male vloggers use the videos to assert a conventionally recognizable masculinity through sculpting and carrying their bodies as well as dressing and talking in masculine-coded ways, Carson explores and plays with ways of expressing femininity within (trans) maleness.
  2. Characteristic of this sex/gender. (Compare masculine, manly.)
    stereotypically male interests, an insect with typically male coloration
    • 2006, Bonnie Roberts, Bruises on the Heart (ISBN 9781847284839), page 118:
      A bright light was shone in her eye and then she heard a kind, male voice who she figured must be Dr. Smith. “Yes, let her rest now, but keep an eye on her blood pressure and her pulse. Check her about every 15 or 20 minutes. Call me if any problem occurs.”
    • 2004, Mino Vianello, Gwen Moore, Women and Men in Political and Business Elites: A Comparative Study (ISBN 1412933749):
      More than that, we cannot find the same dynamics within female career trajectories as in the other two country groups, because the time-structure of female and male careers already shows great similarity within the older generation of elites. In addition, the pattern of the relation between female and male careers remains the same over time.
  3. Tending to lead to or regulate the development of sexual characteristics typical of this sex.
    the male chromosome;   like testes, ovaries also produce testosterone and some other male hormones
  4. (grammar, less common than 'masculine') Masculine; of the masculine grammatical gender.
    • 2012, Sinéad Leleu, ‎Michaela Greck-Ismair, German Pen Pals Made Easy KS3
      If you are describing a female noun, you must make the adjective feminine by adding an 'e'. If you describe a male noun, you add an 'er'. For neutral nouns you add an 'es'.
  5. (figuratively) Of instruments, tools, or connectors: designed to fit into or penetrate a female counterpart, as in a connector, pipe fitting or laboratory glassware. [from 16th c.]
    • 1982, Popular Science, page 119:
      Male adapter connects female pipe threads to polyethylene cold-water pipe; [...] female flare coupling connects male pipe threads to flared copper or plastic;
Synonyms Translations Translations Noun

male (plural males)

  1. One of the male (masculine) sex or gender.
    1. A human member of the masculine sex or gender.
    2. An animal of the sex that has testes.
    3. A plant of the masculine sex.
Antonyms Translations Translations Translations
  • Portuguese: planta-pai


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