man

[[t]mæ̱n[/t]]

♦

men, mans, manning, manned

1) N-COUNT A man is an adult male human being.

He had not expected the young man to reappear before evening...

I have always regarded him as a man of integrity.

...the thousands of men, women and children who are facing starvation.

2) N-VAR Man and men are sometimes used to refer to all human beings, including both males and females. Some people dislike this use.

The chick initially has no fear of man...

Anxiety is modern man's natural state.

...a possible first step to sending a man back to the moon or to Mars.

3) N-COUNT: supp N If you say that a man is, for example, a gambling man or an outdoors man, you mean that he likes gambling or outdoor activities.

Are you a gambling man, Mr Graham?...

He is a keen outdoors man with a great interest in photography and walking.

4) N-COUNT: n-proper N If you say that a man is, for example, a London man or an Oxford man, you mean that he comes from London or Oxford, or went to university there.

...as the Stockport man collected his winnings...

Attlee was an Oxford man.

5) N-COUNT: poss N If you refer to a particular company's or organization's man, you mean a man who works for or represents that company or organization. [JOURNALISM]

...the Daily Telegraph's man in Abu Dhabi.

...America's man at the United Nations.

6) N-COUNT: poss N If you say that a man is someone's man, you mean that he always supports that person or does what they want.

At the time he was said to be very much Rajiv Gandhi's man.

7) N-SING: poss N Some people refer to a woman's husband, lover, or boyfriend as her man. [INFORMAL]

...if they see your man cuddle you in the kitchen or living room.

8) N-PLURAL In the armed forces, the men are soldiers, sailors, marines, or airmen of lower rank, as opposed to the officers.

150 officers and men had to be taken straight to hospital.

...a drill sergeant who would work with the men at least one hour every morning.

Ant:

officer

9) N-PLURAL: oft poss N Male workers are sometimes referred to as men, especially if they do physical work or work for a more senior person.

The men voted by a four-to-one majority to accept the pay offer...

After the talks, the leader of the Workers' Council said his men would be going back down the mines.

10) N-VOC (feelings) One man sometimes addresses another as `man' when he is angry or impatient with him. [OLD-FASHIONED]

I told you, man! It'll be sometime after eight o'clock.

11) N-VOC (formulae) In very informal social situations, man is sometimes used as a greeting or form of address to a man.

Hey wow, man! Where d'you get those boots?

12) VERB If you man something such as a place or machine, you operate it or are in charge of it.

[V n] French soldiers manned roadblocks in the capital city.

[V n] ...the person manning the phone at the complaints department...

[V n] The station is seldom manned in the evening.

13) → See also , ladies' man, no-man's land

14) PHRASE: v-link PHR If you say that a man is man enough to do something, you mean that he has the necessary courage or ability to do it.

I told him that he should be man enough to admit he had done wrong...

You can search me if you think you're man enough.

15) PHRASE: v-link PHR If you describe a man as a man's man, you mean that he has qualities which make him popular with other men rather than with women.

16) CONVENTION People sometimes address a man as my man. [AM, INFORMAL]

`Get the guy in the purple shirt.' - `All right, my man.'

17) CONVENTION (feelings) people sometimes address a man as my man, my dear man, or my good man. This form of address is often friendly, but can also suggest that the speaker feels superior to the person being addressed. [BRIT, OLD-FASHIONED]

My dear man, you are welcome to stay...

It's not for you to say so, my man!

18) PHRASE: V inflects (approval) If you say that a man is his own man, you approve of the fact that he makes his decisions and his plans himself, and does not depend on other people.

Be your own man. Make up your own mind...

He'll be his own man and won't be dictated to.

19) PHRASE: PHR with v (emphasis) If you say that a group of men are, do, or think something to a man, you are emphasizing that every one of them is, does, or thinks that thing.

To a man, the surveyors blamed the government...

They died, to a man, when they tried to break out...

Economists, almost to a man, were sceptical.

20) PHRASE: PHR n, PHR after v A man-to-man conversation or meeting takes place between two men, especially two men who meet to discuss a serious personal matter.

He called me to his office for a man-to-man talk...

Me and Ben should sort this out man to man.

21) the man in the street → see street

man about town → see town

man of the world → see world