beta male

American  

[bey-tuh meyl, bee-] / ˈbeɪ tə ˈmeɪl, ˈbi- /

noun

1. a male animal having the second-highest rank in a dominance hierarchy.

   In the present study, social interactions between beta males were analyzed in groups of captive baboons.

2. Slang: Sometimes Disparaging. a man who is perceived to be weak, mild-mannered, and unimpressive.

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Etymology

Origin of beta male

First recorded in 1970–75 beta male for def. 1; 2005–10 beta male for def. 2

Example Sentences

Or in a more benign mode, consider the hanging-on-to-heterosexuality-by-a-thread beta male that Tony Randall used to play in all those Doris Day-Rock Hudson movies.

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2024

In the wild, a colony typically consists of one alpha female, one beta male, and several gamma juveniles.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2024

And the beta male rises and becomes an alpha and dominates the alpha male, and that way justice is done.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2024

The initial mystery gives way to nail-digging survival drama, but the tension holds, as Russell’s chino-clad beta male morphs into a never-say-die action man of the most tenacious order.

From The Guardian • Apr. 3, 2020

The answer—and this shouldn’t be a spoiler—is no, but that doesn’t keep Barry from intriguingly updating the antihero as a terrifying beta male.

From Slate • Mar. 23, 2018