gen ‧ tle ‧ man S2 W2 /ˈdʒentlmən/ BrE AmE noun ( plural gentlemen /-mən/) [countable]
1 . a polite word for a man, used especially when talking to or about a man you do not know ⇨ lady :
Could you serve this gentleman please, Miss Bath?
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
An elderly gentleman was asleep next to the fire.
2 . a man who is always polite, has good manners, and treats other people well ⇨ lady :
Martin – always the perfect gentleman – got to his feet when my mother walked in.
Mr Field was a real gentleman.
3 . old-fashioned a man from a high social class, especially one whose family owns a lot of property ⇨ lady :
an English country gentleman
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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.