male
/meɪl/ (bre, ipa) · [mˈel] /meɪl/ (ame, ipa) · [mˈel] /ˈmāl/ (ame, mw)
male — adjective
- malepositive
- malercomparative
- malestsuperlative
1. connected with human males, or made for men and boys.
connected with human males, or made for men and boys.
The school asked male students to wear a tie on speech day.
male + human noun: male students
Karim was the only male dancer in the children's ballet class.
The survey compared male and female voters under thirty.
A deep male voice answered the phone after the third ring.
- female
connected with women or girls, or with the opposite sex
文法句型
male + human noun
male and female + plural noun
用法筆記
Most common before human group nouns such as student, voter, or voice. Distinguish it from adjective/2, which labels biological sex rather than social grouping.
2. describing the sex that makes sperm rather than eggs.
describing the sex that makes sperm rather than eggs.
The vet said the black puppy is male, not female.
be male / be female
The farmer kept one male goat with eight females in the field.
In this species, the male bird has brighter feathers than the female.
The zookeeper separated the young male tiger from the older one.
- masculine
can overlap in grammar, but often points to style or character instead of biology
- female
describes the sex that produces eggs
文法句型
be male
male + animal noun
用法筆記
Common in science, medicine, and animal descriptions, and often used after 'be'. Distinguish it from adjective/1, which often labels human groups, roles, or things linked with men and boys.
3. describing a plant or flower part that makes pollen instead of fruit or seeds.
describing a plant or flower part that makes pollen instead of fruit or seeds.
Botanists marked the male flowers with blue tape before the test.
male + flower
This kiwi farm keeps one male plant for every eight female plants.
male + plant
Linh clipped a twig from the male plant and carried it into the greenhouse.
Male blossoms opened two days earlier than the female ones this spring.
- staminate
technical botanical term used in specialist writing
- female
describes the flower or plant that receives pollen and can produce seeds or fruit
文法句型
male + flower
male + plant
用法筆記
Mostly used in gardening, farming, and botany, especially before words such as flower and plant. It is narrower than adjective/2 because it points specifically to the pollen-producing side of a plant.
4. having the projecting part of a connector, made to go into a socket or hole.
having the projecting part of a connector, made to go into a socket or hole.
This cable has a male plug and a female socket at opposite ends.
male plug / female socket contrast
Felix pushed the male connector into the port until it clicked.
The mechanic replaced the bent male pin inside the trailer plug.
Check whether the male end is dry before you connect the wires.
- plug-in
broader and less exact; it does not always describe the specific projecting side
- female
describes the hollow side that receives the projecting part
文法句型
male + plug
male + connector
用法筆記
Engineers and product manuals often pair this sense with 'female' to describe matching parts. It usually appears before words such as plug, end, pin, or connector.
male — noun
- malesingular
- malesplural
1. a person of the male sex, especially when people are being classified in records
a person of the male sex, especially when people are being classified in records or reports.
The school trip is open to males and females over twelve.
paired nouns: males and females
Every male in the choir wore a black tie for the concert.
The shelter has separate sleeping rooms for adult males and for families.
The report counted 46 males and 51 females in the study group.
- female
a person of the female sex in similar formal contexts
文法句型
males and females
adult male
用法筆記
This noun is neutral but somewhat formal, so it is common in signs, forms, medical records, and official writing. In everyday speech, people often say 'man', 'boy', or another more specific word instead.
2. an animal of the sex that fathers young rather than producing eggs.
an animal of the sex that fathers young rather than producing eggs.
The male chased the other deer away from the water hole.
the male as the whole noun phrase
Rangers moved the injured male to a quiet pen behind the barn.
In many bird species, the male sings first at sunrise.
The male stayed near the nest while the female searched for food.
- stud
used for selected breeding animals, not for every species or everyday contexts
- female
the animal of the opposite sex
文法句型
the male + verb
male and female
用法筆記
Writers often use this noun when the species is already known from the context, so they can simply say 'the male' and 'the female'. For a full noun phrase with the species named, adjective/2 is more common, as in 'a male tiger'.