mane

American  

[meyn] / meɪn /

noun

1. the long hair growing on the back of or around the neck and neighboring parts of some animals, as the horse or lion.

2. Informal. (on a human being) a head of distinctively long and thick or rough hair.

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mane British  

/ meɪn /

noun

1. the long coarse hair that grows from the crest of the neck in such mammals as the lion and horse

2. long thick human hair

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Other Word Forms

• maned adjective
• maneless adjective
• unmaned adjective

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."

Example Sentences

The once-famous dark mane has gone white and is neatly cropped and the bushy mustache is now just a brush of hair below his nose.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Jolyon is played by a male model whose lustrous mane gets more of a workout than his emotional range.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

Sitting cross-legged on a red carpet, artist Mohammad Younes Qane uses an ultra-fine paintbrush to trace details such as a horse's mane or the beads of a necklace.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

She once had such a lush mane that her hairdressers complained about it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

He was a big male with a broad face and a golden mane.

From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau

Related Words

• eyebrow
• fiber
• fur
• grass
• haircut
• hairstyle
• sideburn
• strand
• wig
• wool