bisexual

[bahy-sek-shoo-uhl]

adjective

1. noting or relating to a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to people of more than one gender, sometimes understood to include attraction to one's own sex or gender and at least one other sex or gender.

2. Biology.

   1. of both biological sexes.

   2. combining male and female organs in one individual.

noun

1. a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to people of more than one gender, sometimes understood to include attraction to one's own sex or gender and at least one other sex or gender.

2. Biology.,  an animal or plant that has the reproductive organs of both biological sexes.

bisexual

/ baɪˈsɛksjʊəl, baɪˌsɛksjʊˈælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. sexually attracted by both men and women

2. showing characteristics of both sexes

   a bisexual personality

3. (of some plants and animals) having both male and female reproductive organs

4. of or relating to both sexes

noun

1. a bisexual organism; a hermaphrodite

2. a bisexual person

Sensitive Note

As with many other labels used to describe people, the adjective form ( a bisexual author ) is preferred over the noun form. The noun, while sometimes acceptable in the plural (a flag designed for bisexuals ), is often less acceptable in the singular ( a bisexual I work with), especially when not used for self-reference.

Confusables Note

Bisexual is sometimes interpreted to mean romantic, emotional, or sexual attraction to exactly two genders, often but not always men and women. However, since at least the 1990s, many bisexual people have been using definitions that acknowledge attraction to more than two genders, including people who do not fit into the gender binary. For some speakers, the bi- in bisexual refers to a gender or genders that are the same as or similar to their own, and a gender or genders that are different from their own. For others, the bi- in bisexual is simply an etymological quirk, like the octo- in October, which is no longer the eighth month. The debate over the definition of bi- also extends to related labels such as pansexual and omnisexual. Pansexual, for example, is sometimes defined as attraction regardless of gender, and omnisexual as attraction to any gender but not regardless of gender. However, bisexual, pansexual, and omnisexual can all be accurately used to describe a person who is attracted to men, women, and other genders, and some speakers use these words interchangeably. Many factors may be involved in a person's choice of which label to use for their sexuality.

Other Word Forms

• bisexuality noun
• bisexualism noun
• bisexually adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bisexual¹

First recorded in 1815–25; bi- ¹ + sexual

Example Sentences

She was drawn to the bar because she knew it supports the Latinx LGBTQ+ community, and as a bisexual immigrant from Honduras, she was seeking community.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Then Quin found out E is bisexual and E alleged Quin threatened to tell his family during a visit.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The King attended his first official engagement in support of the community in October, as he unveiled a memorial to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender military personnel.

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Rights groups have warned this could allow the prosecution of anyone identifying as gay, bisexual or transgender.

Read more on Barron's

In contrast, the 2023 Women's World Cup had more than 40 openly lesbian or bisexual players.

Read more on BBC