Definition of "male" in English

adjective

1. Belonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it.

   • male writers
   • the leading male and female singers
   • a male bird feeding a seed to a female
   • in bee colonies, all drones are male
   • intersex male patients

2. Characteristic of this sex/gender. (Compare masculine, manly.)

   • stereotypically male interests, an insect with typically male coloration

3. Tending to lead to or regulate the development of sexual characteristics typical of this sex.

   • the male chromosome; like testes, ovaries also produce testosterone and some other male hormones

4. (grammar, less common than 'masculine') Masculine; of the masculine grammatical gender.

5. (of bacteria) Having the F factor; able to impart DNA into another bacterium which does not have the F factor (a female).

6. (figuratively) Of instruments, tools, or connectors: designed to fit into or penetrate a female counterpart, as in a connector, pipe fitting or laboratory glassware.

noun

1. One of the male (masculine) sex or gender.

2. A bacterium which has the F factor.

3. A male connector, pipe fitting, etc.