men
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
all people in the world; the human race.
humanity or mankind viewed as a collective whole.
Simple“The old stories say that men have always looked at the stars and wondered.”
In context“In the philosophical treatises of that era, the term 'men' was frequently employed to encompass the entirety of the human experience.”
UsageOften used with a definite article as 'the men' or simply 'men' in older texts.
Teacher's tipThis usage is increasingly replaced by gender-neutral terms like 'humanity' or 'people' in modern English.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
the soldiers in an army who are not officers.
enlisted personnel in a military or paramilitary organisation, distinguished from commissioned officers.
Simple“The captain ordered his men to set up camp before it got dark.”
In context“The general insisted on visiting the tents to check on the welfare of his men after the long march.”
UsageCommonly appears in the phrase 'officers and men'.
Usage men to get · men women
From Middle English men, from Old English menn (“people”), from Proto-Germanic manniz, nominative plural of Proto-Germanic mann- (“person”). Cognate with German Männer (“men”), Danish mænd (“men”), Swedish män (“men”). More at man.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.