plural men
ˈmen 
in compounds ˌmen,
or mən
1
b
: the human race : humankind
the history of man
c
: a bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens) that is anatomically related to the great apes but distinguished especially by notable development of the brain with a resultant capacity for articulate (see articulate entry 1 sense 1a) speech and abstract reasoning, and is the sole living representative of the hominid family
broadly
: any living or extinct hominid
d(1)
: one possessing in high degree the qualities considered distinctive of manhood (such as courage, strength, and vigor)
(2)
obsolete
: the quality or state of being manly : manliness
f
—used interjectionally to express intensity of feeling
man, what a game
2
a
: individual, person
a man could get killed there
b
: the individual who can fulfill or who has been chosen to fulfill one's requirements
she's your man
3
a
: a feudal tenant : vassal
b
: an adult male servant
c
men plural
: the working force as distinguished from the employer and usually the management
The men have been on strike for several weeks.
4
a
: one of the distinctive objects moved by each player in various board games
b
: one of the players on a team
nine men on each side
5
: an alumnus of or student at a college or university
a Bowdoin man
6
Christian Science
: the compound idea of infinite Spirit : the spiritual image and likeness of God : the full representation of Mind
7
often capitalized
: police
when I heard the siren, I knew it was the Man—
Amer. Speech
Amer. Speech8
often capitalized
: the white establishment : white society
We should control anything that affects black people. Why should The Man control us?—Jimmy Denham
Jimmy Denham9
: one extremely fond of or devoted to something specified
strictly a vanilla ice cream man
manned; manning
1
a
: to supply with people (as for service)
man a fleet
b
: to station members of a ship's crew at
man the capstan
c
: to serve in the force or complement of
man the ticket booth
2
: to accustom (a bird, such as a hawk) to humans and the human environment
3
: to furnish with strength or powers of resistance : brace
My hair bristled and my knees shook. I manned myself, however, and determined to return to my quarters.—Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott
manual
Manitoba
Synonyms
Examples of man in a Sentence
Noun
He was a shy boy, but he grew to be a strong and confident man.
He's a grown man now.
The movie is popular with men and women.
Are you man enough to meet the challenge?
Verb
He stocked shelves while I manned the cash register.
We'll need someone to man the phones this evening.
No one was manning the front desk.
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Recent Examples on the WebEthan Millman, Rolling Stone, 1 Dec. 2023
My next film project is based on a true story about an early Chinese immigrant working for a rich man as a slave.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 1 Dec. 2023
But there's no hurrying a good brew as this extract from Boy on Fire, Mordue's biography of the singer as a young man, suggests.
—Mark Mordue, SPIN, 1 Dec. 2023
Another favorite is North by Northwest, the Alfred Hitchcock thriller that has Grant playing Roger Thornhill, a Madison Avenue ad man on the run after being mistaken by villains as a top U.S. spy, and proving to be at his most sophisticated and charming opposite Eva Marie Saint.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Dec. 2023
Chauvin has been serving a state and federal sentence at FCI Tucson in the death of Floyd, a Black man who died while in police custody on May 25, 2020.
—Luke Barr, ABC News, 1 Dec. 2023
The Conservative Party’s base, tired of being in the political wilderness, choose Cameron as their man
His return to government encharge the foreing policy portfolio is notable.
—Zenger News, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
There are two qualities in my movies that reflect man’s true character: honesty and loyalty.
—Simon Abrams, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2023
Daniel, a transgender man, acted as a resource for the LGBTQ community in the Springs by directing people to the right resources, raising money for trans people in need, and answering questions about trans-affirming care.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 19 Nov. 2023
Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Nov. 2023
Paltrow, 51, for her part, carried out catering duties at the event, manning the Broad Street Oyster Co. & Goop Kitchen station.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 12 Nov. 2023
This new border—the Antonine Wall, so called after the emperor Antoninus Pius—took three Roman legions twelve years to make and was manned for only eight before the Romans withdrew.
—Marina Warner, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023
As Cassidy manned the turntables and sang and rapped along with every artist who graced the stage, each act took turns performing one or two songs throughout the medley.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 19 Oct. 2023
The military reported destroying a position manned by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
—William Booth, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2023
More were being called in as schools closed and officers shut down roads, manned checkpoints and stopped vehicles to question motorists and open trunks.
—Maryclaire Dale and Marc Levy, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Sep. 2023
The prisons were manned by soldiers and F.S.B. and OMON agents, and, eventually, agents with Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service.
—James Verini Paolo Pellegrin, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2023
The detail—by some counts the town’s largest agency, and the only one for which jobs do not rotate every three years—is tasked with all security, manning the checkpoints, guarding against poachers, and even punishing public drunkenness.
—Alexander Sammon, Harper's Magazine, 16 Oct. 2023
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Noun
In 2019, Smollett went to the police in Chicago, claiming that he was assaulted by two men outside of his apartment who also put a noose around his neck and called him racial slurs.
—Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 1 Dec. 2023
My next film project is based on a true story about an early Chinese immigrant working for a rich man as a slave.
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 1 Dec. 2023
But there's no hurrying a good brew as this extract from Boy on Fire, Mordue's biography of the singer as a young man, suggests.
—Mark Mordue, SPIN, 1 Dec. 2023
Another favorite is North by Northwest, the Alfred Hitchcock thriller that has Grant playing Roger Thornhill, a Madison Avenue ad man on the run after being mistaken by villains as a top U.S. spy, and proving to be at his most sophisticated and charming opposite Eva Marie Saint.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Dec. 2023
Chauvin has been serving a state and federal sentence at FCI Tucson in the death of Floyd, a Black man who died while in police custody on May 25, 2020.
—Luke Barr, ABC News, 1 Dec. 2023
The Conservative Party’s base, tired of being in the political wilderness, choose Cameron as their man
His return to government encharge the foreing policy portfolio is notable.
—Zenger News, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
There are two qualities in my movies that reflect man’s true character: honesty and loyalty.
—Simon Abrams, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2023
Daniel, a transgender man, acted as a resource for the LGBTQ community in the Springs by directing people to the right resources, raising money for trans people in need, and answering questions about trans-affirming care.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 19 Nov. 2023
Verb
At the entrances and exits to Jericho, the only point of entry for Palestinians, visitors, and cargo from Jordan into the West Bank, checkpoints erected in February are now fully manned.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Nov. 2023
Paltrow, 51, for her part, carried out catering duties at the event, manning the Broad Street Oyster Co. & Goop Kitchen station.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 12 Nov. 2023
This new border—the Antonine Wall, so called after the emperor Antoninus Pius—took three Roman legions twelve years to make and was manned for only eight before the Romans withdrew.
—Marina Warner, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023
As Cassidy manned the turntables and sang and rapped along with every artist who graced the stage, each act took turns performing one or two songs throughout the medley.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 19 Oct. 2023
The military reported destroying a position manned by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
—William Booth, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2023
More were being called in as schools closed and officers shut down roads, manned checkpoints and stopped vehicles to question motorists and open trunks.
—Maryclaire Dale and Marc Levy, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Sep. 2023
The prisons were manned by soldiers and F.S.B. and OMON agents, and, eventually, agents with Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service.
—James Verini Paolo Pellegrin, New York Times, 1 Nov. 2023
The detail—by some counts the town’s largest agency, and the only one for which jobs do not rotate every three years—is tasked with all security, manning the checkpoints, guarding against poachers, and even punishing public drunkenness.
—Alexander Sammon, Harper's Magazine, 16 Oct. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'man.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, from Old English man, mon human being, male human; akin to Old High German man human being, Sanskrit manu
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
Verb
12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of man was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing man
Articles Related to man
Dictionary Entries Near man
Cite this Entry
“Man.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/man. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
man
1 of 2 noun
plural men
ˈmen
1
a
: a human being
especially
: an adult male human
b
: the human race : humankind
c
d
: a primate mammal that walks on two legs and is the only living member of the hominid family
also
: any living or extinct hominid
e
—used as an interjection to express strong feeling
man, what a game
f
: fellow
—used as a mode of familiar address
2
3
a
: individual entry 2 sense 2, person
a man could be killed there
b
: a person who can or is chosen to fulfill one's requirements
she's your man
4
: one of the pieces in a game (as chess)
man
2 of 2 verb
manned; manning
1
: to supply with people (as for service)
man a ship
2
: to station members of a ship's crew at
man the ropes
3
: to serve in the force of
man the ticket counter
Etymology
Noun
Old English man "person, male person"
Medical Definition
man
noun
plural men
ˈmen
: a bipedal primate mammal of the genus Homo (H. sapiens) that is anatomically related to the great apes (family Pongidae) but is distinguished by greater development of the brain with resulting capacity for articulate speech and abstract reasoning, by marked erectness of body carriage with corresponding alteration of muscular balance and loss of prehensile powers of the foot, and by shortening of the arm with accompanying increase in thumb size and ability to place the thumb next to each of the fingers, that is usually considered to occur in a variable number of freely interbreeding races, and that is the sole living representative of the family Hominidae
broadly
: any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae
More from Merriam-Webster on man
Nglish: Translation of man for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of man for Arabic Speakers
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