men
noun
plural of man.
men
1 American
[men]
/ mɛn /
noun
men-
2
American
men
British
/ mɛn /
noun
men
Idioms
Usage
What does men- mean? Men- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “month.” It is used in a few medical terms, specifically in references to menstruation. Men- comes from the Greek mḗn, meaning “month.” It's distantly related to the English word moon, itself related to the word month. Many calendars, both in the past and present, are based on the cycles of the moon. Menstruation is the periodic flow (known as menses) of blood and other substances from the uterus, which happens approximately every month in women of certain ages. Indeed, both menstruation and menses derive from the Latin mēnsis, meaning “month.”Men- is a variant of meno-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use meno- article.
Explanation
Use the word men to mean "more than one man." If you use the men's bathroom, you'll probably find more than one man there. The men on a job, like farmhands or factory laborers, make up a workforce, and they can be male or female and still be called men. You might also use this word to mean "members of a team" or "members of a military platoon." Men comes from man, which in the original Old English was completely gender neutral, meaning "human being" or "person," rather than specifically "male person."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
About 60 women and 15 men joined the organizations in the first year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
For Bra Steve, part of the solution to the crisis is helping men to understand the issue and take responsibility for their actions.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
While I am not agreeing with Mr. Lederman’s essay, I would imagine that Cornell students who have any views about potential differences between men and women will hesitate before stating them publicly at this point.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
His “Cucumber,” about middle-age gay men, and “Banana,” about young LGBTQ+ people, are also set in Manchester, where Davies has lived since the late 1980s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
But today, me and Charlie were the old men of the group.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Schlesinger explained why victims of one killer - serial killers are nearly always men- could be left in different conditions.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 15, 2023
Only 104 men- Egyptians, Pakistanis, Syrians and Palestinians - survived and 82 bodies were recovered.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
We en- courage states to continue to fight this public men- ace and pledge our commitment to children’s safety and well-being.
From Time ● Jul. 18, 2016
"It's happening to lots and lots of men- and it's about time people woke up to it."
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2010
She had loved listening to the men on the benches too; to freeriders tough as leather, courtly knights and bold young squires, grizzled old men- at-arms.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
