Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "gentleman" []

  • A man of gentle or noble birth or superior social position: "He's too much a gentleman to be a scholar” ( Aphra Behn). (noun)
  • A well-mannered and considerate man with high standards of proper behavior. See Usage Note at lady. (noun)
  • A man of independent means who does not need to have a wage-paying job. (noun)
  • A man: Do you know this gentleman? (noun)
  • Used as a form of address for a group of men. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "gentleman" in a sentence
  • "But every gentleman is a _gentleman_ to his _valet_, for the qualities that distinguish the gentleman are every day and every hour manifested."
  • "Then William Ions, the express-boy, being shewn to the last witness, St. John, he says, "this is the boy whom I saw sent with one of the two expresses that was sent that night; this lad went with the express to the Port-admiral at Deal, I believe; it was the express that Mr. Wright gave him from the gentleman who was there; _from that gentleman_.""
  • ""Prof. gentleman" a _perfect gentleman_; cool, quiet, thoughtful, and _perfectly competent to execute his undertaking_."