MAN | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
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English (UK)

Meaning of man in English

man
noun
uk
/mæn/ us
/mæn/
plural men uk
/men/ us
/men/

man noun (MALE)

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A1 [ C ]
an adult male human being:
a young/tall man
men and women
the man in the green jacket
For a very long time, only men could join the armed forces.
Steve can solve anything - the man's a genius.
 
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an adult who lives and identifies as male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth:
trans man Mark is a trans man (= a man who was said to be female when they were born).
Their doctor encouraged them to live as a man for a while before undergoing surgical transition.
[ C ]
a male employee:
The gas company said they would send some men to fix the leak.
man from The man from the newspaper wrote some positive things about the movie.
Our man in Washington sent us the news by fax yesterday.
men
[ plural ]   military
male members of the armed forces who are not officers:
The military expedition was made up of 100 officers and men.
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[ C ] old-fashioned
a male servant:
My man will show you to the door.
a marketing, advertising, etc. man
a man typical of or involved in marketing, advertising, etc.:
The brewery's marketing man insisted they were not making a political statement.
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[ C ] informal
a husband or male sexual partner:
I hear she's got a new man.
Is there a man in her life?
mainly US informal
used when talking to someone, especially a man:
Hey, man, how are you doing?
man and wife old-fashioned
If a man and a woman are man and wife, they are married to each other:
No sooner had the couple been pronounced man and wife than the trouble started.
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the man [ S ] US slang
a person or group that has power or authority, for example the police
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Employees & colleagues
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man noun (PEOPLE)

B2 [ U ]
the human race:
Man is still far more intelligent than the smartest robot.
Man is rapidly destroying the earth.
known to man This is one of the most dangerous substances known to man.
Try to imagine what life must have been like for Neolithic man 10,000 years ago.
[ C ] literary or old-fashioned
a person:
All men are equal in the sight of the law.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Humans, apes & monkeys
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man noun (OBJECT)

[ C ]
any of the objects that are moved or played with in games such as chess
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Board games
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Grammar

Man, mankind or people?
Traditionally, we use man to refer to all human beings, male and female, usually in contrast with other animals. However, many people consider this to be sexist, so it is better to use a different expression, such as human beings: …

Idioms

as one man
it's every man for himself
make a man (out) of someone
man and boy
be man enough to do something
the man in the moon
(as) man to man
man's best friend
man's inhumanity to man
a man's man
More idioms
man on!
to a man
you the man!
man
verb [ T ]
uk
/mæn/ us
/mæn/
-nn-
To man something such as a machine or vehicle is to be present in order to operate it:
The phones are manned 24 hours a day.
Man the pumps!
See also
overmanned
undermanned
unmanned
Note:
  • Many people find this use sexist and prefer to use other verbs such as 'operate' or 'staff'.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Performing a function
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Idiom

man the barricades

Phrasal verb

man up
man
exclamation
  informal
uk
/mæn/ us
/mæn/
used to express a strong emotion:
Man, we had a good time - we drank all through the night!
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Linguistics: interjections
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-man
suffix
uk
/ -mæn/ /-mən/ us
/ -mæn/ /-mən/
having the nationality or job mentioned, or (of a group or vehicle) containing the number of people mentioned:
an Irishman
a policeman
businessmen
a five-man team
a two-man helicopter
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Measurements of volume: informal
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(Definition of man from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

man | American Dictionary

man
noun
us
/mæn/
plural men us/men/

man noun (HUMAN MALE)

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[ C ]
an adult male human being:
a young man
the men’s 400-meter race
John can solve anything – the man’s a genius.
[ C ]
A man is also a male employee without particular rank or title, or a member of the military who has a low rank:
The gas company sent a man to fix the heating system.
[ C ]
infml Man is sometimes used when addressing an adult male human being:
Hey, man, got a light?
[ C ]
infml Man is sometimes used as an exclamation, esp. when the speaker is expressing a strong emotion:
Man, what a storm!
man and wife
When an official at a wedding says a man and a woman have become man and wife, it means they are now married to each other.

man noun (PERSON)

[ C/U ]
the human race, or any member or group of it:
[ U ] prehistoric man
[ U ] This poison is one of the most dangerous substances known to man.
[ C ] All men are equal in the sight of the law.
Note:
  • Some people dislike this use of man because it does not seem to give women equal importance with men. They prefer to use other words, such as humanity, humankind, people, and person.

man noun (PIECE)

[ C ]
any of the pieces that are played with in games such as chess

manliness

noun [ U ] us
/ˈmæn·li·nəs/
We no longer equate aggression with manliness.

Idioms

man’s best friend
the man in the street
man
verb [ T ]
us
/mæn/
-nn-

man verb [T] (OPERATE)

to be present in order to operate something, such as equipment or a service:
Man the pumps!
The phones are manned 24 hours a day.
Note:
  • Some people dislike this use of man because it does not seem to give women equal importance with men. They prefer to use other words, such as operate and staff.
(Definition of man from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

man | Business English

man
noun [ C ]
  HR, WORKPLACE
uk
/mæn/ us
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a man who does a particular type of work:
A man's coming to fix the photocopier later.
Our man in Washington has this report on the election.
an advertising/a marketing/an operations man They brought in a top sales and marketing man to help with the new product launch.
men in suits disapproving
men at the top of an organization who are interested in the financial performance of a company rather than in the creative or product side of the business:
a stuffy boardroom filled with men in suits
office workers who are considered to be doing a boring job:
The place was full of men in suits from an insurance company.
man
verb [ T ]
  HR, WORKPLACE
uk
/mæn/ us
-nn-
to use or operate equipment or machinery as part of your work, or to work in a particular place:
Extra staff are brought in to man the phone lines during busy periods.
All parts of the building, apart from toilets, are manned by security staff and covered by cameras.

See also

manning
(Definition of man from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
What is the pronunciation of man, -man?
 
What is the pronunciation of men?
 

Translations of man

in Chinese (Traditional)
男子, 成年男子，男人, （沒有明確職位或頭銜的）男性員工…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
男子, 成年男子，男人, （未明确职位或头衔的）男性雇员…
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in Spanish
hombre, marido, noivo…
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in Portuguese
homem, homem [masculine], namorado [masculine]…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Russian
in Telugu
in Arabic
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
माणूस, पुरूष, नवरा…
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（成年の）男性, （男女を問わず）人間, 男性（だんせい）…
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adam, insanoğlu, ademoğlu…
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homme [masculine], mec [masculine], mince…
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home, ésser humà…
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man, mens, manschappen…
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ஒரு வயது வந்த ஆண் மனிதன், ஒரு கணவன் அல்லது ஆண் பாலியல் துணை, ஒருவருடன்…
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पुरुष, पति, साथी…
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પુરુષ, પતિ, મર્દ…
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mand, -mand, menneske…
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man, karl, människa…
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lelaki, manusia, kelakian…
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der Mann, der Mensch, Mensch!…
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mann [masculine], menneske [neuter], type [masculine]…
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آدمی, مرد, شوہر…
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людина, чоловік, людство…
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мужчина, человек, присутствовать…
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మగ, భ్రాతా/ ప్రియుడు, మాన్…
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رَجُل, إِنْسان…
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প্রাপ্তবয়স্ক পুরুষ, স্বামী অথবা প্রেমিক, পুরুষ মানুষ…
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muž, člověk, (pravý) muž…
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pria, manusia, laki-laki…
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ผู้ชาย, มนุษย์, ชาย…
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đàn ông, loài người, các ngài…
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mężczyzna, człowiek, obsadzać…
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남성, 사람…
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uomo, (caro mio), soldato…
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