Male

¹ American  

[mah-ley, -lee] / ˈmɑ leɪ, -li /

noun

1. a city in and the capital of the Maldives.

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male ² American  

[meyl] / meɪl /

adjective

1. having or relating to a gender identity that corresponds to a complex, variable set of social and cultural roles, traits, and behaviors assigned to people of the sex that typically produces sperm cells.

2. 1. Biology. of, relating to, or being an animal or human of the sex or sexual phase that normally produces sperm cells during reproduction.

   2. Botany. designating or relating to a plant or its reproductive structure producing or containing microspores.

   3. Botany. (of seed plants) staminate.

3. of, relating to, or characteristic of a male person; masculine.

   a male voice.

4. comprising male people.

   a male choir.

5. Machinery. made to fit into a corresponding open or recessed part.

   a male plug.

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noun

1. a male person.

2. Biology. an animal, plant, or plant structure that normally produces sperm cells as part of the process of reproduction.

male- ³ American  

1. a combining form meaning “evil,” occurring in loanwords from Latin.

   malediction.

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male ¹ British  

/ meɪl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating the sex producing gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova)

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of a man; masculine

3. for or composed of men or boys

   a male choir

4. (of gametes) capable of fertilizing an egg cell in sexual reproduction

5. (of reproductive organs, such as a testis or stamen) capable of producing male gametes

6. (of flowers) bearing stamens but lacking a functional pistil

7. electronics mechanical engineering having a projecting part or parts that fit into a female counterpart

   a male plug

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noun

1. a male person, animal, or plant

Malé ² British  

/ ˈmɑːleɪ /

noun

1. the capital of the Republic of Maldives, on Malé Island in the centre of the island group. Pop: 90 000 (2005 est)

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male Scientific  

/ māl /

1. In organisms that reproduce sexually, being the gamete that is smaller and more motile than the other corresponding gamete of the same species (the female gamete). The sperm cells of higher animals and plants are male gametes.

2. Possessing or being a structure that produces only male gametes. The testicles of humans are male reproductive organs. Male flowers possess only stamens and no carpels.

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1. A male organism.

Related Words

See man. Male, masculine, virile are adjectives that describe men and boys or attributes and conduct culturally ascribed to them. Male, which is applied to plants and animals as well as to human beings, is often used as a biological or physiological descriptor, classifying individuals on the basis of their potential or actual ability to inseminate in bisexual reproduction. It contrasts with female in all such uses: his oldest male relative; the male parts of the flower. Masculine refers essentially to qualities, characteristics, or behaviors deemed by a culture or society to be especially appropriate to or ideally associated with men and boys. In American and Western European culture, these have traditionally included features such as strength, forthrightness, and courage: a firm, masculine handshake; a masculine impatience at indecision. Virile implies a vigor and muscularity associated with mature manhood and often carries a suggestion of sexual or procreative potency: his virile good looks; a swaggering, virile walk. See also manly.

Other Word Forms

• antimale noun
• intermale adjective
• maleness noun
• supermale noun

Etymology

Origin of male¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French ma(s)le, from Latin masculus; masculine

Origin of male-¹

From Latin; mal-

Example Sentences

I speak, of course, of the, uh, rising Winter Olympic panic that male ski jumpers, hoping to improve aerodynamics and, um, lengthen their jumps, may be covertly:

From The Wall Street Journal

He released a secret he had kept for 16 years, and announced to friends on social media that he was gay - making him the first senior male player in Scottish football to come out.

From BBC

Eager to protect their own profession, male practitioners—from physicians to male midwives—portrayed women as ignorant and sure to do harm or, conversely, possessed of “dangerous” knowledge.

From The Wall Street Journal

Today they dart and shimmer through the warm water — tiny, minnow-like survivors whose breeding males flash a bright desert blue.

From Los Angeles Times

By now I could tell the males and females apart, and this was a female.

From Literature

Related Words

• boy
• father
• guy