heterosexual
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or exhibiting heterosexuality, sexual desire or behavior directed toward people of the other binary gender.
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Biology. of or relating to different sexes.
heterosexual fraternal twins.
noun
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heterosexuals
plural
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of heterosexual
Explanation
A heterosexual person is attracted to people of the opposite sex. Boys who like girls and women who like men are heterosexual. Being heterosexual has long been considered "normal" in our society. When you think of a married couple or parents, it's usually been a man and woman — in other words, a heterosexual couple. However, being heterosexual is only one sexual orientation. Other people are gay, or homosexual. Our culture is slowly starting to accept that heterosexuality isn't the only acceptable sexual orientation. Another word for heterosexual is straight.
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:
For much of the 20th Century, heterosexual dating followed a script that would have felt familiar to the characters in Pride and Prejudice.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
According to Pew, 88% of partnered bisexuals are in heterosexual relationships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
This kind of commiseration in the form of light, joking banter exists wherever heterosexual women gather.
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026
“Incels” is a term that generally refers to extremely online heterosexual men whose “involuntary celibacy” has shaped their attitudes toward women and other worldviews.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
And anyway, terms like homosexual or heterosexual made no sense if you didn’t identify as one gender or another.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
During that four-decade stretch, it wasn’t just heterosexuals coming to our shores in search of a better life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2025
The U-M analysis revealed that male heterosexuals who carry the genetic variants associated with bisexual behavior, which are known as BSB-associated alleles, father more children than average.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2024
While 69% of heterosexuals described their physical health as “good” or “excellent,” only half of their non-straight peers said the same.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
“Every night he introduced me with shining words to these walls of heterosexuals all over the world,” Anohni intoned, as a drummer in the park bashed away in the distance.
From New York Times ● Jun. 27, 2023
Prince Harry's comments come as figures show that for the first time in a decade, the number of new HIV diagnoses among heterosexuals is higher than for gay and bisexual men in England.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2022
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
