Definition of 'man'
Word forms: plural men
, 3rd person singular present
tense mans
, present participle manning
, past tense, past participle manned
1. countable noun
A man is an adult male human being.
He had not expected the young man to reappear before evening.
I have always regarded him as a man of integrity. [+ of]
...the thousands of men, women and children who are facing starvation.
2. variable noun
Man and men are sometimes used to refer to all human beings, including both males and females.
Some people dislike this use.
The chick initially has no fear of man.
Anxiety is modern man's natural state.
...a possible first step to sending a man back to the moon or to Mars.
3. countable noun
4. countable noun
If you say that a man is, for example, a London man or an Oxford man, you mean that he comes from London or Oxford, or went to university there.
...as the Stockport man collected his winnings.
Attlee was an Oxford man.
5. countable noun
If you refer to a particular company's or organization's man, you mean a man who works for or represents that company or organization.
[journalism] ...the Daily Telegraph's man in Abu Dhabi.
...America's man at the United Nations.
6. countable noun [poss NOUN]
7. singular noun
Some people refer to someone's husband, lover, or boyfriend as their man.
[informal] ...if they see your man cuddle you in the kitchen or living room.
8. plural noun
9. plural noun [oft poss NOUN]
Male workers are sometimes referred to as men, especially if they do physical work or work for a more senior person.
The men voted by a four-to-one majority to accept the pay offer.
After the talks, the leader of the Workers' Council said his men would be going back
down the mines.
10. vocative noun
11. countable noun
In very informal social situations, man is sometimes used as a greeting or form of address to a man.
[formulae] Hey wow, man! Where d'you get those boots?
12. verb
If you man something such as a place or machine, you operate it or are in charge of it.
French soldiers manned roadblocks in the capital city. [VERB noun]
...the person manning the phone at the complaints department. [VERB noun]
The station is seldom manned in the evening. [be VERB-ed]
13. See also manned, ladies' man, no-man's land
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
22. man about town
23. man of the world
Phrasal verbs:
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
nounWord forms: plural men (mɛn
)
1.
an adult male human being, as distinguished from a woman
3. archaic
a human being regardless of sex or age, considered as a representative of humankind; a person
4. (sometimes capital)
human beings collectively; humankind
the development of man
5. Also called: modern man
a.
a member of any of the living races of Homo sapiens, characterized by erect bipedal posture, a highly developed brain, and powers of articulate speech, abstract reasoning, and imagination
b.
any extinct member of the species Homo sapiens, such as Cro-Magnon man
6.
a member of any of the extinct species of the genus Homo, such as Java man, Heidelberg man, and Solo man
7.
an adult male human being with qualities associated with the male, such as courage or virility
be a man
9.
a.
b.
(in combination)
the number of man-days required to complete a job
10. (usually plural)
a member of the armed forces who does not hold commissioned, warrant, or noncommissioned rank (as in the phrase officers and men)
11.
a member of a group, team, etc
13.
an expression used parenthetically to indicate an informal relationship between speaker
and hearer
15. South Africa slang
any person: used as a term of address
17. as one man
18. be one's own man
19. he's your man
20. man and boy
22. to a man
exclamation
verbWord forms: mans, manning or manned (transitive)
▶ USAGE The use of man and mankind to mean human beings in general is often considered sexist. Gender-neutral alternatives
include human beings, people and humankind. The verb to man can also often be replaced by to staff, to operate and related words. Gender-neutral alternatives to manpower include personnel and staff. 25.
to take one's place at or near in readiness for action
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
adjective
Word origin of 'man'
noun
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
nounWord forms: plural men (mɛn
; men)
3.
a.
an adult male human being
b.
sometimes, a boy
4.
b.
a male employee; workman
c. [usually pl.]
a soldier, sailor, etc.; esp., one of the rank and file
d. Archaic
a vassal
5.
a.
a husband
b.
a lover
6.
a person with qualities conventionally regarded as manly, such as strength, courage,
etc.
7.
a player on a team
10. Nautical
a ship
used in compounds man-of-war, merchantman
verb transitiveWord forms: manned or ˈmanning
12.
to take assigned places in, on, or at for work or defense
man the guns!
adjective
17.
male
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin of 'man'
Example sentences containing 'man'
These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content.
Read more…
They claim he would turn up at very short notice and was sometimes with younger men. The Sun (2016)But my partner says he will leave if this man comes back into our lives. The Sun (2017)There is only one man who can pick them up. The Sun (2016)Their bodies were spotted by rescue teams looking for another man seen at the top. The Sun (2017)He must be the smiling front man and often the one who tells players when they are dropped. The Sun (2016)That is a man saying 'I know best. The Sun (2016)That same month a 4x4 full of armed men pulled up next to where he was parked. Times, Sunday Times (2016)I consider myself a man of the people. The Sun (2016)I was struck recently by the way modern men feel obliged to advise rising generations. Times, Sunday Times (2016)It wasn't just older, white men with less education. The Sun (2016)The men had been working on damage to a mains pipeline. The Sun (2016)Two other causes of loss of libido in older men are often missed. Times, Sunday Times (2007)There is too much pressure on modern men to attend the birth. The Sun (2013)The sketch involved a grown man going back to his boyhood school. Christianity Today (2000)It will need a very sharp sprint from one man to overtake the other. Times, Sunday Times (2011)This experience made her feel unable to trust another man. The Sun (2010)It followed reports that an armed man had buried himself underground. The Sun (2011)Police appealed for witnesses who may have seen the man in the city centre to come forward. Times, Sunday Times (2016)The only defence for either man would be to plead insanity. Times, Sunday Times (2011)No doubt the different circumstances gave smaller groups of men more time to weigh their options. The Times Literary Supplement (2010)They also felt more angry than the men who suppressed their emotions. EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER: A Journey Through the Science of Feelings (2005)Former colleagues say he is a man who gets things done. Times, Sunday Times (2006) Young men nowadays prefer computers and video games to football in the streets. Broken Lives (1993)We put men on the moon and dreamt of robots that could vacuum and scrub. Times, Sunday Times (2008)The training of officers improved, as new men replaced the older feudal generals. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
Quotations
Man is only a reed, the weakest thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed Pensées
Man is the measure of all things
Man is heaven's masterpiece Emblems
There are many wonderful things, and nothing is more wonderful than man Antigone
Man is an embodied paradox, a bundle of contradictions Lacon
The four stages of man are infancy, childhood, adolescence and obsolescence A Child's Garden of Misinformation
What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! Hamlet
Man is something to be surpassed Thus Spake Zarathustra
Man was formed for society Commentaries on the Laws of England
man: an animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be The Devil's Dictionary
Man, became man through work, who stepped out of the animal kingdom as transformer of the natural into the artificial, who became therefore the magician The Necessity of Art
The best of men are but men at best
Word Lists
Trends of 'man'
Extremely Common. man is one of the 1000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary
View usage for:
Nearby words of 'man'
Source
Definition of man from the
Collins English Dictionary
New collocations added to dictionary
Collocations are words that are often used together and are brilliant at providing natural sounding language for your speech and writing.
Read more
Unlock language with the Paul Noble method
No books. No rote memorization. No chance of failure. Your chance to have a one-to-one lesson with best-selling language expert Paul Noble, try a FREE audio sample of his brand new Mandarin Chinese course.
Read more
Collins Dictionaries for Schools
Our new online dictionaries for schools provide a safe and appropriate environment for children. And best of all it's ad free, so sign up now and start using at home or in the classroom.
Read more
Word lists
We have almost 200 lists of words from topics as varied as types of butterflies, jackets, currencies, vegetables and knots!
Amaze your friends with your new-found knowledge!
Read more
13th edition of the Collins Dictionary out now!
Updated with all the very latest new words and senses, this new 13th edition is an unparalleled resource for word lovers, word gamers, and word geeks everywhere.
#homeoflivingenglish
Read more
Join the Collins community
All the latest wordy news, linguistic insights, offers and competitions every month.
Read more