mankind

[ man-kahynd for 1; man-kahynd for 2 ]
See synonyms for mankind on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the human race; human beings collectively without reference to gender; humankind: It is no longer possible, if it ever was, for a single human brain to hold all of mankind's scientific knowledge.

  2. men, as distinguished from women: Some still maintain that mankind is stronger, braver, smarter than womankind, but many others consider that absolute nonsense.

Origin of mankind

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; man + kind2

usage note For mankind

Is man gender-neutral? See man.

Other words from mankind

  • premankind, noun

Words Nearby mankind

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mankind in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mankind

mankind

/ (ˌmænˈkaɪnd) /


noun
  1. human beings collectively; humanity

  2. men collectively, as opposed to womankind

usage For mankind

Nowadays many people object to the use of mankind to refer to all human beings and use the term humankind instead

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012