noun
cis man
sis MAN
Cis man (noun) means a man whose gender identity matches the male sex he was recorded as at birth; a man who is not transgender. Example: “The role was written for a cis man but the director cast against it.”
noun
1
A man whose gender identity matches the male sex he was recorded as at birth; a man who is not transgender.
"The role was written for a cis man but the director cast against it."
"Cis men made up almost the whole of the original committee."
How to use cis man
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA man who was born male and identifies as male.
When to use it
Neutral and standard in current usage; cisgender man is the fuller form.
Memory tip
The plural is cis men. Cis never takes an -s of its own: cis men, not ciss men.
Trace the full origin ↓
Easily confused with
Common pairings
cis men and trans men
a cis man
cis male privilege
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The role was written for a _____ but the director cast against it.
Etymology
From the Latin prefix cis- 'on this side of', the opposite of trans- 'across', applied to gender by analogy with its long-standing use in chemistry.
Synonyms
View more →
cisgender man
cis male
Antonyms
trans man
transgender man
Related words
Rhymes for cis man
See all rhymes for cis man →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a cis man and a trans man?
A cis man was recorded male at birth and identifies as a man. A trans man was recorded female at birth and identifies as a man. The distinction is about the birth record, not about whether either is a man.
Why is the word cis needed at all?
Without it, non-transgender people go unnamed and are treated as the default, so any sentence about men would silently mean non-trans men. Cis gives both groups a label so a sentence can specify which it means.
Is cis man different from cis male?
They point to the same people. Cis man is the more usual phrasing in everyday and editorial writing because it uses the gender noun; cis male is more common in research writing and questionnaires.
What is the meaning of cis man?
"cis man" (noun) means a man whose gender identity matches the male sex he was recorded as at birth; a man who is not transgender.
