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
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human beings collectively; humanity
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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
Etymology
Origin of mankind
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; man ( def. ) + kind 2 ( def. )
Explanation
Mankind is every single human being — all of us. The discovery of cures for diseases benefits all of mankind, while global warming is not so kind to mankind. The entire human species can be referred to in one simple word with mankind. Pollution is something that harms mankind across the globe, and disasters like war and famine have affected mankind all through our history. If you think your dad's brownies are the very best in the entire world, you could exaggerate a little and say, "They're the most delicious thing known to mankind." In its Old English origin, man is gender-neutral, meaning simply "person."
Vocabulary lists containing mankind
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.
The British monarch hosted executives from Nvidia, Anthropic, Google DeepMind and OpenAI, along with an AI adviser to the Vatican, and tasked them with building consensus to ensure the future of mankind is protected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
But if you are an AI company about to launch an IPO, you say that very soon you will cure cancers, produce music only angels have heard, solve equations that have bedeviled mankind for millennia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
I grew up in South Africa and you’re forced to play every sport known to mankind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
"I don't think it would age like a fine wine, but for the sake of mankind someone needs to drink it," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
This should not unduly worry us: by that time, unless we have colonized beyond the Solar System, mankind will long since have died out, extinguished along with our sun!
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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