sex

UK/ˈsɛks/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/ˈseks/

sex noun: a category into which sexually-reproducing organisms are divided on the basis of their reproductive roles in their species; the system of such categories, which can differ by organism or by taxonomic branch. Also the alternative form of sect.

Image: Museo de las Aves de México, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

sex (countable and uncountable, plural sexes)

(countable) A category into which sexually-reproducing organisms are divided on the basis of their reproductive roles in their species; the system of such categories, which can differ by organism or by taxonomic branch.
- The effect of the medication is dependent upon age, sex, and other factors.
- The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.1918, Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Synonyms:

gender
(countable) Another category, especially of humans and especially based on sexuality or gender roles.
- Still there are some loop-holes out of which a man may creep, and dare to think and act for himself; but for a woman it is an herculean task, because she has difficulties peculiar to her sex to overcome, which require almost super-human powers.1791 (date written), Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1792, →OCLC
- "But now another sex, in arms, is brought, / And, realms to guard, are eunuchs able thought!"1817, The works of Claudian, tr. into Engl. verse by A. Hawkins, page 43
(countable) The members of such a category, taken collectively.
- It was a weakness / In me, but incident to all our sex.1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes, section 774
- The sensibility of the female sex appears […] to be greater than that of the male.1780, Jeremy Bentham, Introduction to the Principles of Morals & Legislation, vi, §35
(uncountable) The distinction and relation between these categories, especially in humans; gender.
- A lot of women now like men to pay for them on dates... We've dealt with the outdated view of sex underpinning this.2005 November 11, Guardian, section 18
(literary, obsolete, uncountable, with-definite-article) Women; the human female gender and those who belong to it.
- The sex of Venice are undoubtedly of a distinguished beauty.1789 November 3, Arthur Young, Travels... undertaken with a view of ascertaining the cultivation... of the kingdom of France, i, 220
- I was not, however, better than my neighbors; the Sex had its charms for me as it had for others; But there always remained a sting, that time only wore away.c. 1840, George Nelson, Reminiscenses
(uncountable) Sexual activity, may be understood to be sexual intercourse unless preceded by a modifier.
- We marry in fear and trembling, sex for a home is the woman's traffic, and the man comes to his heart's desire when his heart's desire is dead.1899, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “In the Raphael Gallery”, in Love and Mr. Lewisham: The Story of a Very Young Couple, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC, page 144
- If you want to have sex, you've got to trust
  At the core of your heart, the other creature.1929, D.H. Lawrence, Pansies, section 57
(countable, euphemistic, slang) Genitalia: a penis or vagina/vulva.
- Another ha's gon through with the bargain... One that will find the way to her Sex, before you'le come to kissing her hand.1664, Thomas Killigrew, Princess, ii, ii
- And the black cypresses strained upwards like the sex of a hanged man.1938, David Gascoyne, Hölderlin's Madness, section 18
(obsolete) Any kind of category, class, or community of people who possess shared characteristics, such as religion or race.

Verb

sex (third-person singular simple present sexes, present participle sexing, simple past and past participle sexed)

(transitive) To determine the sex of (an animal).
- If we sex the cattle, which is the only way to get at their value, we shall have... 400 cows, 200 yearling heifers.1878 January 19, Spirit of the Times, 659/2
- If, in fact, in L. funebris there is no sex marker on the song elements themselves, then a young bird must be able to sex its tutor. The same is true if the individuals were predisposed to produce the total vocabulary of any population, or of both sexes in their own population, and then under...1996 December 1, W. Wickler, K. Lunau, “How Do East African Bush Shrikes Laniarius funebris Recognize Male and Female Tutors During Gender Dialect Development?”, in Naturwissenschaften, volume 83...
(US, colloquial, transitive) To have sex with.
- As good as Muddah had handled me in bed, sexing her hadn't done a damn thing to take my mind off my cousin Smoove.2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 102
- He shows some glimpses, but most of the released singles are about flossing, partying, and sexing women.2007, Mickey Hess, Icons of hip hop : an encyclopedia of the movement, music, and culture. 2, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 427
(US, colloquial, intransitive) To have sex.
- Our baby is eighteen months old now, and cries when we sex1921 August 20, Kenneth Burke, letter to Malcolm Cowley
Synonyms:

do it

Also used as

sex is also the alternative form of sect.

sex meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

sex in Hindi

reproductive/sexual/gender category (female or male): लिंग liṅg
act of sexual intercourse — see also rumpy-pumpy: मैथुन maithun, संभोग sambhog, सहवास sahvās, चुदाई cudāī

sex in Tamil

reproductive/sexual/gender category (female or male): பால் pāl, எனம் eṉam
act of sexual intercourse — see also rumpy-pumpy: பாலுறவு pāluṟavu, உடலுறவ uṭaluṟava

sex in Marathi

act of sexual intercourse — see also rumpy-pumpy: कामजीवन kāmjīvan, सेक्स seksa, संभोग sambhog

sex in Urdu

reproductive/sexual/gender category (female or male): جِنْس jins, لِن٘گ liṅg
act of sexual intercourse — see also rumpy-pumpy: سیکْس seks

More languagesFewer languages

sex in Bengali: লিঙ্গ liṅgo, সেক্স śekśo, যৌনসঙ্গম jōunośoṅgom
sex in Telugu: లింగము liṅgamu, సంభోగము sambhōgamu, మైధునము maidhunamu, రతి rati
sex in Malayalam: ലിംഗം liṅgaṁ, ലൈംഗികബന്ധം laiṅgikabandhaṁ, സംഭോഗം sambhōgaṁ, മൈഥുനം maithunaṁ
sex in Kannada: ಲೈಂಗಿಕತೆಯು
sex in Punjabi: ਲਿੰਗਕ
sex in Gujarati: મૈથુન maithun, સેક્સ seks
sex in Sinhala: ලිංගික සංසර්ගය liṁgika saṁsargaya
sex in Nepali: सेक्स, यौनता
sex in Tagalog: tauhin, pagtalik, kantot
sex in Arabic: جِنْس jins, جِمَاع jimāʕ, مُجَامَعَة mujāmaʕa, تَسَافُد tasāfud
sex in Malay: jantina, seks
sex in Indonesian: jenis kelamin, seks
sex in Thai: เพศ pêet, ลิงค์ ling, เซ็กส์ sék, การร่วมเพศ gaan-rûuam-pêet
sex in Vietnamese: giới tính, sự giao cấu
sex in Myanmar: လိင် ling, သံဝါသ sam-wasa.

Examples of sex in a sentence

I would never have guessed […] that slime molds can have thirteen sexes.1994, Valerie Harms, Uc Rodale Nat Aud Enviro, page 268:
A black old neutral personage / Of the third sex stept up.1821 August 8, [Lord Byron], Don Juan, Cantos III, IV, and V, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, canto V, stanza XXVI:
I have encountered officers who believe a woman got a better assignment or somehow "got over" because of her sex.1992, United States Naval Institute Proceedings, volume 118, page 23:
Why did he just ‘have sex’ and disappear?1962 June 7, The Listener, 1006/2

Synonyms of sex

Forms of sex

Noun
plural	sexes
alternative form	s*x
alternative form (archaic)	sexe
Verb
third-person singular present	sexes
present participle	sexing
past participle	sexed
past	sexed

Origin of sex

From Middle English sexe (“sex [distinction between male and female] and gender”), from Old French sexe (“genitals; gender”), from Latin sexus (“gender; gender traits; males or females; genitals”), from Proto-Italic *seksus, from Proto-Indo-European *séksus, from *sek- (“to cut, cut off, sever”), thus meaning "section, division" (into male and female). Displaced native Old English hād (“sex, gender”). Usage for women influenced by Middle French le sexe (“women”) (attested in 1580). Usage for third and additional sexes calqued from French troisième sexe, referring to masculine women in 1817 and homosexuals in 1847. First used by Lord Byron and others in English in reference to Catholic clergy. Usage for sexual intercourse first attested in 1899 (in the writings of H. G. Wells).

From sect.

Words formed from sex

Phrases with sex

163 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with sex

35 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about sex

What does sex mean?: Sex means a category into which sexually-reproducing organisms are divided on the basis of their reproductive roles in their species; the system of such categories, which can differ by organism or by taxonomic branch.
What is sex in Hindi?: Sex in Hindi is लिंग (liṅg), मैथुन (maithun), संभोग (sambhog). See Sex meaning in Hindi.
How do you use sex in a sentence?: I would never have guessed […] that slime molds can have thirteen sexes.
What part of speech is sex?: Sex can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce sex?: Sex is pronounced /ˈsɛks/ (UK).
What is the plural of sex?: The plural of sex is sexes.

Words near sex in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: sex (page history and authors); sex (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sex (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sex (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-sex.ogg.

Cite this entry: “sex.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sex. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.