cis

¹ American  

[sis] / sɪs /

adjective

1. cisgender or cissexual.

   He may not be macho, but he's definitely a cis male.

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noun

1. a person who is cisgender or cissexual.

cis- ² American  

1. a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin meaning “on the near side of; on this side of” (cisalpine ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (cisatlantic ).

2. Chemistry. a specialization of this denoting a geometric isomer having a pair of identical atoms or groups attached on the same side of two atoms linked by a double bond.

3. a prefix meaning “on the same side of,” referring to the alignment of one’s gender identity with one’s sex assigned at birth (cisgender; cissexual ).

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C.I.S. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. Commonwealth of Independent States.

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cis- ¹ British  

prefix

1. on this or the near side of

   cisalpine

2. (often in italics) indicating that two groups of atoms in an unsaturated compound lie on the same side of a double bond Compare trans-

   cis-butadiene

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CIS ² British  

abbreviation

1. Commonwealth of Independent States

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Sensitive Note

See trans, gender ¹.

Usage

What does cis mean? Cis is short for cissexual or, more commonly, cisgender, which refers to someone's gender identity that corresponds to their sex as assigned at birth. Cisgender is the opposite of transgender.

Etymology

Origin of cis¹

By shortening

Origin of cis-²

From Latin cis (adverb and preposition) “on this side, on this side of, within”

Example Sentences

“It treats transgender women differently than cis women.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

"This has even resulted in cis women being challenged for going into a female toilet because they have a short haircut," the statement added.

From BBC • May 14, 2025

And I think that by avoiding that, you obscure the fact that you can’t actually excise trans people from lots of legal protections without harming cis women in particular.

From Slate • Mar. 3, 2025

Trans, nonbinary, queer, gay, cis and straight performers all take the stage with the same goal: to make space to celebrate country music for those who aren’t usually embraced by its stubbornly conservative circles.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2025

“And I dunno. Being attracted to someone not cis makes me think I could be attracted to someone nonbinary. Which is why I’m not sure ‘bisexual’ is the right word, at least for me.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone