DictionaryAI

sex

SEKS/sɛks/

Pluralsexes (some meanings)

Verbsexes, sexing, sexed

7 meanings of sex

Practice

  1. 1
    have relationsnoununcountable
    Physical activity between people that involves their private parts, often for pleasure or to have babies.

    They talked about sex in health class.

    Many couples wait until marriage to have sex.

    UsageSay have sex with someone.

    Similarintercourse, lovemaking, intimacy

    Oppositeabstinence, celibacy

    Note
  2. 2
    biological classnouncountable
    Whether a person, animal, or plant is male or female, based on the part it plays in making young.

    Doctors can often tell a baby's sex before it is born.

    Cats, dogs, and all other mammals have two sexes, male and female.

    UsageSex is usually about the body; gender usually means social roles and identity.

    Similargender

    Note
  3. 3
    nouncountable
    All the people who are male, or all who are female, thought of as one group.

    Teenagers can feel shy around the opposite sex.

    At that age, children often prefer to play with their own sex.

    UsageSay the opposite sex.

    Similargender

    Note
  4. 4
    have relationsverbcolloquialUStransitive
    To have sex with another person.

    In the old R&B song, the singer promises to sex his lover all night long.

    He bragged that he sexed her on their first date, but she said it never happened.

    UsageHave sex with someone is the normal way to say it.

    Similarbed, shag, bang

Less common meanings

  1. 5
    private partsnounliteraryeuphemisticcountable
    A person's private parts, such as a penis or vagina.
    She touched his sex with her hand.
    1993, Catherine Coulter, The Heiress Bride
    And the black cypresses strained upwards like the sex of a hanged man.
    1938, David Gascoyne, Hölderlin's Madness

    Similargenitals, genitalia, privates

    Note
  2. 6
    verbtransitive
    To find out whether an animal is male or female.

    Like checking each puppy to see if it is a boy or a girl.

    Workers sex the chicks soon after they hatch.

    It can be hard to sex a young rabbit.

    UsageOften said like this: the chicks are sexed.

    Note
  3. 7
    third categorynouncountable
    A group other than male and female, often based on gender roles or on who people are attracted to.

    Some cultures recognize more than two sexes.

    In their society, a person could belong to a third sex.

    UsageSay a third sex.

    Similargender

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of sex apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

The word comes from Latin sexus, meaning gender or the traits of males and females. It came into English through Old French. The meaning of sexual intercourse first appeared in 1899.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts