mane

American  

[mayn] / meɪn /

noun

• manes
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• maned
  adjective
• maneless
  adjective
• unmaned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• manes
  plural

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

See Examples For:

mane manes

The Wildlife Trusts, external said the lion's mane jellyfish gets its name from its long tentacles, and have "all the beauty and bite of a lion".

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Among the brand’s options is a zero-proof Negroni containing lion’s mane, a mushroom said to promote brain and nerve health.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

With her distinctive husky voice, tousled mane of blonde hair and black eyeliner, Tyler was instantly recognisable as the queen of the 1980s power ballad.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Those observations highlighted its distinctive appearance, including a "mane" made up of hazy structures resembling comet tails.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

Standing amidships was a girl in a flowing dress of white silk, her mane of black hair pinned back with a circlet of diamonds.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Lucas said lion's manes "occasionally" reach the Welsh coast later in the summer or autumn, according to jellyfish sightings recorded by the public, but their main habitat in the UK was Scotland.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

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

“I didn’t want to draw attention to myself,” she whispered, as she passed teenage girls leading shiny horses with braided manes.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2023

White flames seemed to Frodo to flicker on their crests and he half fancied that he saw amid the water white riders upon white horses with frothing manes.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

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