/ seks; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ U , C ] the state of being male or female
SYN gender :
How can you tell what sex a fish is?
a process that allows couples to choose the sex of their baby
Please indicate your sex and date of birth below.
sex discrimination (= the act of treating men and women differently in an unfair way)
2.
[ C ] either of the two groups that people, animals and plants are divided into according to their function of producing young :
a member of the opposite sex
single-sex schools
—see also fair sex
3.
[ U ] physical activity between two people in which they touch each other's sexual organs, and which may include sexual intercourse :
It is illegal to have sex with a person under the age of 16.
gay sex
the sex act
a sex attack
a sex shop (= one selling magazines, objects, etc. that are connected with sex)
sex education in schools
These drugs may affect your sex drive (= your interest in sex and the ability to have it) .
—see also safe sex , sexual intercourse
4.
-sexed (in adjectives) having the amount of sexual activity or desire mentioned :
a highly-sexed woman
■ verb
[ vn ] ( technical ) to examine an animal in order to find out whether it is male or female
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- sex sb up
- sex sth up
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (denoting the two categories, male and female): from Old French sexe or Latin sexus .