I. man 1 S1 W1 /mæn/ BrE AmE noun ( plural men /men/)
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ man , ↑ manhood , ↑ mankind ; adjective : ↑ manly ≠ ↑ unmanly , manned ≠ ↑ unmanned , ↑ mannish ; verb : ↑ man ; adverb : ↑ manfully ]
[ Language: Old English ]
1 . MALE PERSON [countable] an adult male human ⇨ woman :
There were two men and a woman in the car.
He’s a very kind man.
a man’s watch
Don’t keep Hansen waiting – he’s a busy man.
2 . STRONG/BRAVE [countable usually singular] a man who has the qualities that people think a man should have, such as being brave, strong etc:
Come on, be a man now. No more crying.
He wasn’t man enough (=strong or brave enough) to face up to his responsibilities.
make a man (out) of somebody (=make a boy or young man start behaving in a confident way)
Running his own business has really made a man out of Terry.
3 . PERSON [countable] a person, either male or female – used especially in formal situations or in the past:
All men are equal in the eyes of the law.
a man’s right to work
4 . PEOPLE [uncountable] people as a group:
This is one of the worst diseases known to man.
the evolution of man
prehistoric/stone-age/modern man (=people who lived at a particular stage of human development)
5 . WORKER
a) [countable usually plural] a man who works for an employer:
Why were there no protests from the men at the factory?
b) [countable] a man who does a job for you, especially repairing something:
Has the man been to fix the TV?
gas man/rent man etc
I waited all day for the gas man.
c) the man from something a man who works for a particular company or organization:
Was that the man from the PR agency?
6 . PARTICULAR KIND OF MAN [countable]
a) a man who comes from a particular place, does a particular kind of work, or is connected with a particular organization, especially a university or company:
I think she married a Belfast man.
I’ve been a military man all my life.
Even a Harvard man has a lot to learn about politics.
b) a man who likes, or likes doing, a particular thing:
I’m more of a jazz man myself.
Are you a betting man?
7 . man! spoken
a) used when speaking to an adult male, especially when you are excited, angry etc:
Stop talking nonsense, man!
b) used when speaking to someone, especially an adult male:
You look great, man!
8 . SOLDIER [countable usually plural] a soldier or ↑ sailor who is under the authority of an officer:
The Captain ordered his men to fire.
9 . HUSBAND [countable] informal a woman’s husband or boyfriend
sb’s man
She spent five years waiting for her man to come out of prison.
10 . the man spoken
a) used to talk about a man you dislike, a man who has done something stupid etc:
Don’t listen to him – the man’s a complete idiot.
b) The Man American English old-fashioned someone who has authority over you, especially a police officer
11 . sb’s your man spoken used to say that a particular man is the best person for a job, situation etc:
If you need repairs done in the house, Brian’s your man.
12 . you da man! you’re the man! American English spoken used to praise someone for having done something well
13 . our man spoken used by the police to refer to a man that they are watching or trying to find, especially because they think he is responsible for a crime:
Gareth couldn’t possibly be our man. He couldn’t possibly be a murderer.
Perhaps our man parked his car at the station and took the train.
14 . our man in/at something a man who is the representative of a country or organization in a particular place:
our man in Rome
a report on the accident from our man at the scene
15 . men in (grey) suits informal the men who control businesses, organizations etc, considered as a group, especially when you think they are boring
16 . a man of his word a man you can trust, who will do what he has promised to do:
He had promised to help, and Sally knew that Dr Neil was a man of his word.
17 . a man of few words a man who does not talk very much:
Being a man of few words, his message was short and to the point.
18 . be your own man to behave and think independently without worrying about what other people think:
I’m my own man. I say what I believe.
19 . the man of the moment/hour/year a man who has recently done something important:
Olson was the man of the hour when the team beat the Tigers.
20 . it’s every man for himself spoken used to say that people will not help each other:
In journalism it’s every man for himself.
21 . the man in the street ( also the man on the Clapham omnibus British English old-fashioned ) the average man or the average person SYN Joe Bloggs/Schmo :
This kind of music doesn’t appeal to the man in the street.
22 . a man of the people a man who understands and expresses the views and opinions of ordinary people:
The prime minister is a man of the people.
23 . a man’s man a man who enjoys being with other men and doing sports and activities with them, and is popular with men rather than women:
He enjoyed his reputation as a man’s man, but was careful never to neglect his family.
24 . a ladies’ man a man who is popular with women and who likes to go out with a lot of different women:
Paul likes to think he’s a bit of a ladies’ man.
25 . man and boy British English if a man has done something man and boy, he has done it all his life:
I’ve worked on that farm man and boy.
26 . man and wife if a man and a woman are man and wife, they are married:
I now pronounce you man and wife (=you are now officially married) .
27 . live as man and wife if a man and a woman live as man and wife, they live together as if they are married, although they are not
28 . as one man written if a group of people do something as one man, they do it together:
The audience rose as one man to applaud the singers.
29 . to a man/to the last man written used to say that all the men in a group do something or have a particular quality:
They were socialists to a man.
30 . man-about-town a rich man who goes out a lot to parties, clubs, theatres etc:
In his designer suit and shiny shoes he looked quite the man about town.
31 . man of God/man of the cloth a priest:
You’d believe a man of the cloth, wouldn’t you?
32 . my (good) man British English old-fashioned spoken used when talking to someone of a lower social class – do not use this phrase:
My good man, I really don’t think you should be here.
33 . my man spoken used by some men to greet a friend:
Jason, my man! How’s it going?
34 . your/yer man spoken used to talk about a particular man – used mainly in Ireland:
I’ve got to go and see yer man this afternoon.
35 . SERVANT [countable] old-fashioned a male servant:
My man will drive you to the station.
36 . GAME [countable] one of the pieces you use in a game such as ↑ chess
37 . every man jack old-fashioned each person in a group:
Spies, every man jack of them, I’d bet.
38 . kick/hit a man when he’s down to treat someone badly when you know that they already have problems:
Most of his rivals couldn’t resist kicking a man when he was down.
39 . man’s best friend a dog
40 . the man of the house the most important male member of a family, who is responsible for doing things such as paying bills, making important decisions etc:
Since my father’s death, my uncle was the man of the house.
⇨ ↑ best man , ↑ man-to-man , ↑ New Man , ↑ old man , ⇨ be a man/woman of the world at ↑ world 1 (21)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ man an adult male human:
a young man
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Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest.
▪ guy ( also bloke/chap British English ) informal a man:
She’d arranged to meet a guy in the bar.
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Alex is a really nice bloke.
▪ gentleman formal a man – used as a very polite way of talking about a man:
an elderly gentleman
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Please could you serve this gentleman?
▪ boy a young male person, usually a child or a teenager:
a teenage boy
▪ lad old-fashioned informal a boy or young man:
When I was a young lad, I wanted to join the army.
▪ youth a teenage boy or young man – used especially in news reports to show disapproval:
Gangs of youths roam the streets.
▪ male formal a man – used especially by the police or in science and research contexts. The adjective male is much more common than the noun:
We are investigating the death of an unidentified male.
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The condition is usually found only in males.
▪ dude American English informal a man - a very informal use:
You could tell there was something creepy going on with that dude.
■ relating to men
▪ male adjective a male teacher, singer etc is a man. Male jobs are the kind of jobs that men typically do:
Most science teachers are male.
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a male nurse
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We are trying to recruit more women to do traditionally male jobs such as engineering.
▪ masculine considered to be more typical of a man than of a woman:
He had a very masculine face.
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masculine aggression
▪ manly having the qualities that people expect and admire in a man, such as being brave and strong:
He took off his shirt, revealing his manly chest.
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It isn’t considered manly to cry.
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In the portrait, the King looked manly and in control.
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He was bronzed and athletic, with manly features and a steady gaze.
▪ macho behaving in a way that is traditionally typical of men, for example by being strong and tough and not showing your feelings – used especially either humorously or to show disapproval:
On the outside he may seem to be very macho but inside he’s very sensitive.
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Stallone always plays macho men.
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He’s far too macho to drink mineral water.
II. man 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle manned , present participle manning ) [transitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ man , ↑ manhood , ↑ mankind ; adjective : ↑ manly ≠ ↑ unmanly , manned ≠ ↑ unmanned , ↑ mannish ; verb : ↑ man ; adverb : ↑ manfully ]
to work at, use, or operate a system, piece of equipment etc:
A team of volunteers are manning the phones.
the first manned spacecraft
III. man 3 BrE AmE interjection especially American English
used to emphasize what you are saying, especially when you are angry, surprised, disappointed etc:
Man, that was a lucky escape!
Oh, man! I can hear the bullets.