mans

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of man.

   The guard mans the gate from dusk until dawn.

   A single operator mans the entire control room overnight.

   Note

   The verb takes its -s to agree with a singular subject: she mans the rudder, the guard mans the gate. Its everyday meaning is staffing a post or taking up position at a machine, and it says nothing about who does the work. A woman mans a station just as a man does. Older uses, such as steeling oneself or accustoming a hawk to people, are now dated or obsolete.

2. 2
   noundialectalMulticultural London English

   Plural of man in Multicultural London English. Nonstandard; the standard plural is men.

   Down the Ice Arena we met up with bare mans then Dot came with us and we bopped to the Orchard.

   2014, Robb Peters, D.A. Diary

   Note

   Here the ordinary -s ending does the job that a vowel change does in standard English, where the plural is men. The form belongs to Multicultural London English, as in "bare mans" in Robb Peters's D.A. Diary (2014). Outside that speech it is treated as an error. In standard or formal writing, use men.

3. 3
   nounslangcountable

   A man; a slang equivalent of man, used in casual speech.

   This mans tried to sell me a fake watch outside the station, and he wouldn't take no for an answer.

   The mans behind the counter just shrugged and looked away.

   Similarman

   Note

   One person is meant, whatever the ending suggests. The -s is the affectionate suffix of pet forms, not a plural marker, so it pairs with is and this: whose mans is this? It also works as a warm form of address, as in "thanks mans" in A-T. Gabe's Stuck in a Day Dream (2017). A singular verb or determiner nearby sets it apart from the nonstandard plural.

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