bisexuality

American  

[bahy-sek-shoo-al-i-tee, -seks-yoo-] / ˌbaɪ sɛk ʃuˈæl ɪ ti, -sɛks yu- /

noun

1. sexual desire or behavior directed toward 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. the state of being sexually 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.

3. Biology.

   1. (of a species) having two distinct sexes.

      In these plants, bisexuality recently evolved from an ancestral unisexual condition.

   2. having both male and female sexual organs present in one individual.

      Bisexuality occurs in about 50% of the red sea bream's juvenile population.

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bisexuality Cultural  

1. Sexual activity with, or sexual attraction to, members of both sexes.

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Usage

Does bisexuality involve attraction to only two genders? See bisexual.

Etymology

Origin of bisexuality

First recorded in 1840–50 bisexuality for def. 3, and in 1890–95 bisexuality for defs. 1, 2; bi- ¹ ( def. ) + sexuality ( def. ); from German Bisexualität bisexuality for defs. 1, 2

Example Sentences

Herron was the director and executive producer on Marvel Studios series “Loki” when the eponymous god of mischief confirmed his bisexuality during a conversation with Sylvie.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2025

Her journey in discovering Paganism and accepting her bisexuality happened "almost in tandem", as she gradually learnt her atheist beliefs were not giving her "a sense of fulfilment".

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2024

Wayne Brady recently clarified what he described as the "biggest misconception" surrounding pansexuality, illuminating how many people conflate it with bisexuality.

From Salon • Mar. 18, 2024

Mead’s bisexuality had already nearly destroyed her career once before.

From Slate • Feb. 10, 2024

In 1893, in his L'Inversion Sexuelle, Chevalier, a pupil of Lacassagne—who had already applied the term "hermaphrodisme moral" to this anomaly—explained congenital homosexuality by the idea of latent bisexuality.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 Sexual Inversion by Ellis, Havelock