Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - man

~1 n plural men 1 »MALE PERSON« an adult male human  (There were two men and a woman in the car. | He's a very kind man. | a man's watch | Don't keep him waiting - he's a busy man.) 2 »STRONG/BRAVE MAN« C usually singular a man who has the qualities that people think a man should have, such as being brave, strong etc  (be a man)  (Go on, be a man. Tell him he has to pay you more. | be man enough to do sth (=be strong or brave enough) | make a man (out) of (=make a boy or young man start behaving in a confident way))  (Running his own business has really made a man out of Terry.) 3 »HUMAN BEING« a) old-fashioned a person, either male or female  (All men are equal in the eyes of the law.) b) people as a group  (This is one of the worst diseases known to man. | the evolution of man | prehistoric/stone-age man (=the types of people who lived in the early stages of human development)) 4 »WORKER« a) usually plural a man who works for an employer  (Bad conditions and low wages were making the men restless.) b) a man who comes to your house to do a job for you, especially to repair something  (Has the man been to fix the TV? | the gas man/rent man etc)  (I waited in all day for the man to come and connect the heater.) 5 »PARTICULAR KIND OF MAN« a ... man a) a man who belongs to a particular organization, comes from a particular place, does a particular type of work etc  (Bernard was a typical Foreign Office Man. | I got it from the vegetable man in the market. | I think she married a Belfast man. | an Oxford/Yale/Cambridge man (=one who has been to a particular university)) b) a man who likes, or likes doing, a particular thing  (I'm more of a jazz man myself. | Are you a betting man?) 6 Man! spoken a) used for addressing an adult male, especially when you are excited, angry etc  (Stop talking nonsense, man!) b) especially AmE, CarE used for addressing someone, especially an adult male  (This party's really great, man!) 7 »SOLDIER« C usually plural a soldier or sailor who is under the authority of an officer  (The Captain ordered his men to fire.) 8 »HUSBAND« informal a woman's husband or sexual partner  (She spent five years waiting for her man to come out of prison.) 9 the man spoken a) used to talk about a man you dislike, a man who has done something stupid etc  (I don't know why she married him - I can't stand the man myself | Don't listen to him the man's a complete idiot.) b) AmE someone who has authority over you, especially a white man or police officer 10 a man old fashioned spoken used by a man to mean himself  (Can't a man read his paper in peace?) 11 he's your/our man spoken used to say that a man is the best person for a particular job, situation etc  (If you need repairs done in the house, Brian's your man.) 12 a man of his word a man you can trust, who will do what he has promised to do 13 a man of few words a man who does not talk very much 14 be your own man to behave and think independently without worrying about what other people think 15 it's every man for himself spoken used to say that people will not help each other  (In journalism it's every man for himself.) 16 the man in the street the average man or the average person  (This kind of music doesn't appeal to the man on the street.) 17 a man of the people a man who understands and expresses the views and opinions of ordinary people 18 a man's man a man who enjoys being with other men and doing male activities, and is popular with men rather than women 19 ladies' man a man who is popular with women and who likes to go out with a lot of different women 20 man and boy if a man has done something man and boy, he has done it all his life  (I've worked on that farm man and boy.) 21 be man and wife to be married 22 live as man and wife to behave as though you are married, although you may not be 23 as one man especially literary if a group of people do something as one man, they do it together  (The audience rose as one man to applaud the singers.) 24 to a man/to the last man especially literary used to say that all the men in a group do something or have a particular quality  (a disreputable crew, robbers and cut-throats to a man.) 25 man-about-town a rich man who spends a lot of time at parties, clubs, theatres etc 26 man of God a religious man, especially a priest 27 my (good) man BrE old-fashioned spoken used when talking to someone of a lower social class 28 my man spoken used by some black British and American men to greet a friend 29 your man IrE spoken used to mean a particular man  (I think your man over there's organizing the music.) 30 »SERVANT« old-fashioned a male servant  (My man will drive you to the station.) 31 »GAME« one of the pieces you use in a game such as chess 32 every man jack old-fashioned each person in a group 33 kick/hit a man when he's down to treat someone badly when you know that they already have problems 34 man's best friend a dog 35 the man on the Clapham omnibus BrE someone who is supposed to represent the attitudes of ordinary people  (- see also best man, man­to­man, New Man, old man, man/woman of the world world1 (26))  ( USAGE NOTE: MAN POLITENESS Many people no longer use man to mean `men and women in general' because it gives the impression that women are not included. They prefer to use humans or human beings abilities found in humans (rather than in man). Also you might see every disease known to human kind rather than every disease known to man/mankind. Generally you use the word person when it is not important to say whether you are talking about a man or a woman Sandy's a really nice person. | unemployed people It is also advisable not to use words that contain man in the names of jobs, because this seems to mean that only men do that job or that the person is a man. So say that someone is a chairperson, rather than a chairman, especially when it is a woman. Similarly it is better to say spokesperson, businesspeople, or salesperson. Sometimes you do not need to use -man, -woman, or -person in the names of jobs at all. For example, people are more likely to say firefighter than fireman, police officer rather than policeman, and in British English, headteacher or head instead of headmaster or headmistress.