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:
Bisexual women aged 50 to 64 are twice as likely as their heterosexual peers to live alone.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 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 that person, at least in high-school heterosexual relationships, is definitely the girl.
From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green
And it’s not only heterosexuals among the estimated 44 million refugees around the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2025
In 2021, Australian biologist Brendan Zietsch and colleagues presented evidence that heterosexuals carrying same-sex-associated alleles have more sexual partners than those not carrying the variants.
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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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
