male
n. countablen. a man or a boy, or a male animal. You can use this word to talk about the sex of a person or animal.
n. a person or animal of the sex that does not give birth to young. It is the counterpart to 'female'.
The group has one male and three females.
The study compared the test scores of males and females in the same age group.
In many bird species, the male displays brightly coloured plumage to attract a mate, a classic example of sexual selection driving evolutionary traits.
* As a Welsh surname, from the personal name Mael, from Middle Welsh mael (“prince”). * As an English surname of Norman origin, contaminated from many Old French sources, such as mail (“hammer”), maille (“chainmail”), maille (“denier”), or esmal (“enamel”). Compare Mailer. * Also as an English surname, from Middle English male (“bag, pouch”). * Also as an English surname of Norman origin, from the source of male (“male, male adult”). * Also as an English surname, from Middle English mele (“meal, flour”) (compare Millman) or from Old Norse melr (“sandhill”). Compare Meil. As a Slovene surname, from the adjective mal (“small, little”), from Proto-Slavic malъ. Compare Mal, Mahle. * As a Norwegian surname, from a farm in Romsdal derived from Old Norse mǫl (“layer of pebbles”). Also Americanized from Mæle, Mæhle, itself related to the Norse word melr. Compare Mele.
When referring to people, 'male' as a noun can sound clinical or impersonal. In everyday conversation, 'man' or 'boy' is more common.