sex

1 of 2

noun

1
a
: either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures
In the past, couples could hold fast to their dreams about their baby's sex until the moment of truth in the delivery room.Jacquelyn Mitchard
b
: the sum of the structural, functional, and sometimes behavioral characteristics of organisms that distinguish males and females
Doctors can alter the physical characteristics of sex, but bodily sex does not determine gender.Dinitia Smith
c
: the state of being male or female
… Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex.Tamar Lewin
d
: males or females considered as a group
He gave the minister a sly look, daring him to disparage the female sex.Evelyn Anthony
2
a
: sexually motivated phenomena or behavior
3
Are gender and sex the same? Usage Guide

The words sex and gender have a long and intertwined history. In the 15th century gender expanded from its use as a term for a grammatical subclass to join sex in referring to either of the two primary biological forms of a species, a meaning sex has had since the 14th century; phrases like "the male sex" and "the female gender" are both grounded in uses established for more than five centuries. In the 20th century sex and gender each acquired new uses. Sex developed its "sexual intercourse" meaning in the early part of the century (now its more common meaning), and a few decades later gender gained a meaning referring to the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex, as in "gender roles." Later in the century, gender also came to have application in two closely related compound terms: gender identity refers to a person's internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female; gender expression refers to the physical and behavioral manifestations of one's gender identity. By the end of the century gender by itself was being used as a synonym of gender identity.

Among those who study gender and sexuality, a clear delineation between sex and gender is typically prescribed, with sex as the preferred term for biological forms, and gender limited to its meanings involving behavioral, cultural, and psychological traits. In this dichotomy, the terms male and female relate only to biological forms (sex), while the terms masculine/masculinity, feminine/femininity, woman/girl, and man/boy relate only to psychological and sociocultural traits (gender). This delineation also tends to be observed in technical and medical contexts, with the term sex referring to biological forms in such phrases as sex hormones, sex organs, and biological sex. But in nonmedical and nontechnical contexts, there is no clear delineation, and the status of the words remains complicated. Often when comparisons explicitly between male and female people are made, we see the term gender employed, with that term dominating in such collocations as gender differences, gender gap, gender equality, gender bias, and gender relations. It is likely that gender is applied in such contexts because of its psychological and sociocultural meanings, the word's duality making it dually useful. The fact remains that it is often applied in such cases against the prescribed use.

Usage of sex and gender is by no means settled. For example, while discrimination was far more often paired with sex from the 1960s through the 20th century and into the 21st, the phrase gender discrimination has been steadily increasing in use since the 1980s and is on track to become the dominant collocation. Currently both terms are sometimes employed with their intended synonymy made explicit: sex/gender discrimination, gender (sex) discrimination.

sex

2 of 2

verb

sexed; sexing; sexes

transitive verb

1
: to identify the sex of
sex newborn chicks
2
a
: to increase the sexual appeal of
often used with up
b
: to arouse the sexual desires of

Examples of sex in a Sentence

Noun The couple didn't know what the sex of their baby would be. How do you tell the sex of a hamster? discrimination on the basis of sex Her mom talked to her about sex. She doesn't like all the sex and violence in movies.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Their findings suggest that differences in how the liver and adipose tissue store nutrients drive these differences in metabolism between the sexes. New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2024 For the symptoms that are shared between sexes, women might experience them worse or differently than men. Brandi Jones, Msn-Ed, Rn-Bc, Health, 24 Sep. 2024
Verb
The stalker isn't romanticized or sexed up, but instead portrayed as mentally ill and deeply pitiful. Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2024 Then Alan Cumming sexed up the role in a 1993 revival envisioned by Sam Mendes. Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for sex 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sex.' 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

Middle English, from Latin sexus

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1878, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sex was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near sex

Cite this Entry

“Sex.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sex. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

sex

1 of 2 noun
ˈseks
1
: either of two groups into which many living things are divided according to their roles in reproduction and which consist of males or females
2
: the physical and behavioral characteristics that make males and females different from each other
3
: sexual activity
especially : sexual intercourse

sex-

2 of 2 combining form
variants or sexi-
: six
sextet
Etymology

Noun

Middle English sex "category of living things according to reproductive roles," from Latin sexus (same meaning)

Combining form

from Latin sex "six"

Medical Definition

sex

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as male or female especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures
In the past, couples could hold fast to their dreams about their baby's sex until the moment of truth in the delivery room.Jacquelyn Mitchard
b
: the sum of the structural, functional, and sometimes behavioral characteristics of organisms that distinguish males and females
Doctors can alter the physical characteristics of sex, but bodily sex does not determine gender.Dinitia Smith
c
: the state of being male or female
Inherited risks refer here to biological vulnerability to illness because of one's sex.Lois M. Verbrugge
2
a
: sexually motivated phenomena or behavior

sex

2 of 2 transitive verb
: to identify the sex of
techniques for sexing human embryos

More from Merriam-Webster on sex

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!