1
- mass noun(chiefly with reference to people) sexual activity, including specifically sexual intercourse（多指人的）性行为, 性交：
he enjoyed talking about sex
他喜欢谈论性话题
she didn't want to have sex with him.
她不想与他发生性关系。
1.1
- in sing. a person's genitals (used in novels to avoid more vulgar or anatomically explicit terms)生殖器（用于小说中避免更粗俗或更露骨的措词）。
2
- either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and most other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions性, 性别：
adults of both sexes.
成年男女。
2.1
- mass noun the fact of belonging to one of these categories男（或雄）性; 女（或雌）性：
direct discrimination involves treating someone less favourably on the grounds of their sex.
直接歧视即指根据性别给与不公正对待。
2.2
- the group of all members of either of these categories总称男人; 女人：
she was well known for her efforts to improve the social condition of her sex.
她因努力改善女性社会状况而闻名。
with obj.
1
- determine the sex of确定…的性别：
sexing fish.
鉴别鱼的性别。
2
sex someone up
informal arouse or attempt to arouse someone sexually〈非正式〉引起…的性欲。
USAGE
On the difference in use between the words sex (in sense 2 above) and gender, see usage at GENDER.
派生词
sexer
noun词源
late Middle English （denoting the two categories, male and female）：from Old French sexe or Latin sexus.