sex
1 of 2noun
ˈseks 
1
a
: either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures
In the past, couples could hold fast to their dreams about their baby's sex until the moment of truth in the delivery room.
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Jacquelyn Mitchard b
: the sum of the structural, functional, and sometimes behavioral characteristics of organisms that distinguish males and females
Doctors can alter the physical characteristics of sex, but bodily sex does not determine gender. Dinitia Smith
Dinitia Smith c
: the state of being male or female
… Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex. Tamar Lewin
Tamar Lewin d
: males or females considered as a group
He gave the minister a sly look, daring him to disparage the female sex. Evelyn Anthony
Evelyn Anthony2
a
: sexually motivated phenomena or behavior
b
: sexual intercourse
3
: genitalia
sex
2 of 2verb
sexed; sexing; sexes
transitive verb
1
: to identify the sex of
sex newborn chicks
2
a
: to increase the sexual appeal of —often used with up
b
: to arouse the sexual desires of
Synonyms
Noun
- coition
- coitus
- commerce
- congress
- copulating
- copulation
- coupling
- intercourse
- lovemaking
- mating
- relations
- sex act
- sexual intercourse
- sexual relations
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun The couple didn't know what the sex of their baby would be. How do you tell the sex of a hamster? discrimination on the basis of sex Her mom talked to her about sex. She doesn't like all the sex and violence in movies.
Recent Examples on the Web Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 19 May 2022 Read More: Saudi Prince’s Year of Prestige Is Unraveling in Front of HimThe government has ended a ban on driving for women, allowed music and entertainment and lifted restrictions on both sexes mingling in public. Donna Abu-nasr, Bloomberg.com, 20 May 2020 One of the findings shows a disparity between men and women—although both sexes have been infected in roughly equal numbers, the death rate among men was higher. Claire Gillespie, Health.com, 10 Apr. 2020 Staff won't know the cubs' sexes until Echo has bonded with her cubs and staff can get a closer look safely. Rachael Lallensack, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2020 While sex's supposed positive effects on your immune system is widely reported, the actual research tells a slightly more complicated story. Elizabeth Gulino, refinery29.com, 3 Apr. 2020 The anchoring tension is between sex’s transformative possibility and the ever-present danger of harm, whether psychic, social, or even that of violence and infection. Julian Lucas, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020 High school years ahead and mothers will be replaced by buddies, clans and hangout pals of both sexes. Susan Glaser, cleveland, 3 May 2020 Human-like rats For the first experiment, Keysers and his team trained 24 rats of both sexes to push two different levers that produced a treat, until the animals developed a preference for one lever. National Geographic, 5 Mar. 2020 Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2019 To make matters all the more thirsty, that poster’s genitalia-like woodlands surround a smooching couple who appear to be a sexed-up version of beastiality tale Beauty and The Beast. Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 20 Jan. 2020 The preppy East Coast label has collaborated with everyone from Sacai and Supreme to Vetements, but West’s topper was a fresh foil for her typically sexed-up take on sportswear. Edward Barsamian, Vogue, 13 Dec. 2018 Yandy’s ark of offerings is evidence that pretty much any animal can be sexed up, although not all animals are equally alluring. Rachel Sugar, Vox, 26 Oct. 2018 The most sexed-up take on the look saw one guy swaggering down the runway like a cheeky gunslinger. Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2018 Wills is officially headed to paradise, or, at least, sexed-up Bachelor Nation spin-off series Bachelor In Paradise, as People announced. refinery29.com, 10 July 2018 The classic look would often get sexed up with spit curls that lay slicked to the forehead, at the nape of the neck, or in front of the ear, thanks to the influence of Josephine Baker. Rebecca Norris, Allure, 22 May 2018 Each walleye harvested by the tribes is measured and sexed. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9 May 2018 See More
Noun
Brown’s manual mocks one of the foundational myths of a patriarchal order: that women are sex’s passive recipients. Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 19 May 2022 Read More: Saudi Prince’s Year of Prestige Is Unraveling in Front of HimThe government has ended a ban on driving for women, allowed music and entertainment and lifted restrictions on both sexes mingling in public. Donna Abu-nasr, Bloomberg.com, 20 May 2020 One of the findings shows a disparity between men and women—although both sexes have been infected in roughly equal numbers, the death rate among men was higher. Claire Gillespie, Health.com, 10 Apr. 2020 Staff won't know the cubs' sexes until Echo has bonded with her cubs and staff can get a closer look safely. Rachael Lallensack, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2020 While sex's supposed positive effects on your immune system is widely reported, the actual research tells a slightly more complicated story. Elizabeth Gulino, refinery29.com, 3 Apr. 2020 The anchoring tension is between sex’s transformative possibility and the ever-present danger of harm, whether psychic, social, or even that of violence and infection. Julian Lucas, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020 High school years ahead and mothers will be replaced by buddies, clans and hangout pals of both sexes. Susan Glaser, cleveland, 3 May 2020 Human-like rats For the first experiment, Keysers and his team trained 24 rats of both sexes to push two different levers that produced a treat, until the animals developed a preference for one lever. National Geographic, 5 Mar. 2020 Verb
But bring the kids anyway to this daftly sexed-up production. Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2019 To make matters all the more thirsty, that poster’s genitalia-like woodlands surround a smooching couple who appear to be a sexed-up version of beastiality tale Beauty and The Beast. Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, 20 Jan. 2020 The preppy East Coast label has collaborated with everyone from Sacai and Supreme to Vetements, but West’s topper was a fresh foil for her typically sexed-up take on sportswear. Edward Barsamian, Vogue, 13 Dec. 2018 Yandy’s ark of offerings is evidence that pretty much any animal can be sexed up, although not all animals are equally alluring. Rachel Sugar, Vox, 26 Oct. 2018 The most sexed-up take on the look saw one guy swaggering down the runway like a cheeky gunslinger. Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2018 Wills is officially headed to paradise, or, at least, sexed-up Bachelor Nation spin-off series Bachelor In Paradise, as People announced. refinery29.com, 10 July 2018 The classic look would often get sexed up with spit curls that lay slicked to the forehead, at the nape of the neck, or in front of the ear, thanks to the influence of Josephine Baker. Rebecca Norris, Allure, 22 May 2018 Each walleye harvested by the tribes is measured and sexed. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9 May 2018 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Latin sexus
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1878, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing sex
Kids Definition
sex
noun
ˈseks
1
: either of two divisions into which many living things can be divided according to their roles in reproduction and which consist of males or females
2
: the state of being male or female
The form asks for your name, age, and sex.
3
: sexual activity
Medical Definition
sex 1 of 2
noun
ˈseks
1
a
: either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as male or female especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures
In the past, couples could hold fast to their dreams about their baby's sex until the moment of truth in the delivery room. Jacquelyn Mitchard
Jacquelyn Mitchard b
: the sum of the structural, functional, and sometimes behavioral characteristics of organisms that distinguish males and females
Doctors can alter the physical characteristics of sex, but bodily sex does not determine gender. Dinitia Smith
Dinitia Smith c
: the state of being male or female
Inherited risks refer here to biological vulnerability to illness because of one's sex. Lois M. Verbrugge
Lois M. Verbrugge2
a
: sexually motivated phenomena or behavior
b
: sexual intercourse
sex
2 of 2transitive verb
: to identify the sex of
techniques for sexing human embryos
sex
noun
as in intercourse
sexual union involving penetration of the vagina by the penis the students learned about the mechanics of sex and reproduction in health class Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- intercourse
- mating
- relations
- sexuality
- copulation
- coitus
- lovemaking
- copulating
- sexual intercourse
- coition
- sex act
- breeding
- sexual relations
- making love
- coupling
- commerce
- fornication
- congress
- getting it on
- safe sex
- carnality
- insemination
- dalliance
- whoopee
- hanky-panky