mane
Americannoun
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manes
plural
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the long hair growing on the back of or around the neck and neighboring parts of some animals, as the horse or lion.
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Informal. (on a human being) a head of distinctively long and thick or rough hair.
noun
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the long coarse hair that grows from the crest of the neck in such mammals as the lion and horse
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long thick human hair
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of mane
before 900; Middle English; Old English manu; cognate with German Mähne, Dutch manen, Old Norse mǫn
Explanation
Use the noun mane when you talk about an animal's ruff of neck hair. A male lion's mane can be very fluffy and dramatic. A mane is a patch or growth of long hair, whether it's found on a lion or down the neck of a pony, or even on a human's head. You might stroke a horse's mane while sitting on its back, or you could compliment your friend on her beautiful mane of long blonde hair. The Old English root is manu, which comes from a Proto-Indo-European root, mon, which means "neck" or "nape of the neck."
Vocabulary lists containing mane
Horsin' Around
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"A Contest of Riddles"
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When I Was the Greatest
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Those observations highlighted its distinctive appearance, including a "mane" made up of hazy structures resembling comet tails.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
His balding head’s scraggly hair—in contrast to the wigs worn by just about every Frenchman at the time, no matter the social class—is both ennobling and a bit enfeebling, like an aging but distinguished mane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The bout was hair vs. hair; whichever billionaire lost would be stripped of their mane in the ring.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
I really like the grilled lion’s mane steak, their mushroom steak with truffle potatoes, or the scallopini Milanese, that has a chicken or tofu option.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
He was large and wolf-like, with a thick gray mane and a tail that curled over his back.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
I certainly haven’t noticed that modern television is overflowing with strapping, brawny men, some sporting magnificent beards or manly manes on their heads, atop bodies as smooth as Barbie dolls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
The colorful horse toys with brushable manes and tails were first created in the '80s and had a revival in 2003.
From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2024
The screens hang above the row of committee members who all look crisper and a bit more self-consciously groomed than usual with their blowouts and trimmed beards and clipped manes.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 14, 2022
Iris Law, Demi Lovato and Saweetie have lopped off their manes.
From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
He shook the reins to the lovely mares with long manes in the wind, guiding them full tilt toward his father’s hall.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
