Cambridge Dictionary updates definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’

The Cambridge Dictionary has made its definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ more inclusive.

A recent update has seen both terms made more representative of how they’re used today.

The definition of the word ‘man’ still includes “an adult male human being”. But it also now reads: “An adult who lives and identifies as male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth”

The same applies for ‘woman’.

A spokesman for the Cambridge Dictionary responded to a request from The Telegraph about the changes. They reveal the changes were made in October.

“Our dictionaries are written for learners of English and are designed to help users understand English as it is currently used,” they said.

The spokesperson continued: “We regularly update our dictionary to reflect changes in how English is used, based on analysis of data from this corpus.”

Dr. Jane Hamlin, the president of the Beaumont Society, a charity which supports transgender and non-binary people, is among those celebrating the inclusive update.

“This is such good news,” she told The Telegraph. She describes the new definitions as “clear, concise, and correct”.

Additionally, she said: “Congratulations to the Cambridge Dictionary team!”