1 [U] the state or time of being an adult man rather than a boy:
to reach manhood * His youth and early manhood were spent in America.
2 [U] the qualities that a man is supposed to have, for example courage, strength and sexual power:
Her new-found power was a threat to his manhood.
3 [sing.] (written or humorous) a man's PENIS. People use 'manhood' to avoid saying 'penis'.
4 [U] (literary) all the men of a country:
The nation's manhood died on the battlefields of World War I.
compareWOMANHOOD
