mankind
Americannoun
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the human race; human beings collectively without reference to gender; humankind.
It is no longer possible, if it ever was, for a single human brain to hold all of mankind's scientific knowledge.
-
men, as distinguished from women.
Some still maintain that mankind is stronger, braver, smarter than womankind, but many others consider that absolute nonsense.
noun
-
human beings collectively; humanity
-
men collectively, as opposed to womankind
Usage
Nowadays many people object to the use of mankind to refer to all human beings and use the term humankind instead
Gender
Is man gender-neutral? See man.
Other Word Forms
- premankind noun
Etymology
Origin of mankind
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; man ( def. ) + kind 2 ( def. )
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.
Slavery was the "most horrendous crime that took place in the history of mankind", Ghana's foreign minister has told the BBC ahead of a landmark vote at the UN General Assembly.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
It will contrast contemporary and historical pieces to profile the impact of technology on mankind.
From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026
One platform’s founder claimed the prediction market represents “the most accurate thing we have as mankind right now,” while another’s leader asserted the platform is “replacing debate, subjectivity, and talk with markets, accuracy, and truth.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026
Lovecraft's famous observation that "the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."
From Science Daily • Mar. 11, 2026
The betterment of mankind was, as we understood it, the whole point of the thing.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions 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.
