metrosexual

met·ro·sex·u·al
M3E1T1R1O1S1E1X8U1A1L1
/ˌmɛtɹəˈsɛkʃuəl/

noun

A man — typically urban, heterosexual, and affluent — who is concerned with personal appearance, such as personal grooming, fashion, and aesthetics in general.

Similar
boulevardierdandy (19th century)fop (19th century)dudedoodman about townmasherdandy
UncommonScrabble 20

Meanings

nounmetrosexual (plural metrosexuals)

plural metrosexuals

  1. datedA man — typically urban, heterosexual, and affluent — who is concerned with personal appearance, such as personal grooming, fashion, and aesthetics in general.

    Reports of the "death" of my Frankenstein's monster with perfect skin, the metrosexual, have been greatly exaggerated. In Europe and the UK at least, it seems he's alive and looking very well in his lovely new eyeliner.

    2006 September 18, Mark Simpson, “Long live the metrosexual”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
  2. datedA heterosexual man who is seen, sociologically, as having attributes common to homosexuals.
adjectivemetrosexual (comparative more metrosexual, superlative most metrosexual)

comparative more metrosexual · superlative most metrosexual

  1. datedOf or relating to a metrosexual or the metrosexual lifestyle.

    But one question stuck out beyond all the others. What on earth would a metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln look like?

    2012 May 17, David A. Graham, “Picture of the Day: The Metrosexual, Black Abe Lincoln”, in The Atlantic
    1 more example

    Of course Chandler was the romantic lead. His was the spirit of the age: self-deprecating, metrosexual, all ironic distance, no ambition.

    2023 October 29, Zoe Williams, “‘An ironic, self-deprecating metrosexual’: how Matthew Perry captured the spirit of the age”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
boulevardierdandy (19th century)fop (19th century)dudedoodman about townmasherdandysensualist

Origin

Blend of metropolitan + heterosexual, equivalent to metro- + -sexual. Coined by British writer Mark Simpson in 1994, it enjoyed a brief popularity in the early 2000s.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian метросексуален
  • метросексуален (metroseksualen)man concerned with personal appearance
Catalan metrosexual
  • metrosexualman concerned with personal appearance
Chinese Mandarin 都市美男, 型男
  • 都市美男 (dūshì měinán)man concerned with personal appearance
  • 型男 (xíngnán)man concerned with personal appearance
Czech metrosexuál
  • metrosexuálman concerned with personal appearance
Danish metrosexuel
  • metrosexuelman concerned with personal appearance
Dutch metroseksueel, metroman
  • metroseksueelman concerned with personal appearance
  • metromanman concerned with personal appearance
Esperanto metroseksulo
  • metroseksuloman concerned with personal appearance
Estonian metroseksuaal
  • metroseksuaalman concerned with personal appearance
Finnish metroseksuaali, hienostelija
  • metroseksuaaliman concerned with personal appearance
  • hienostelijaman concerned with personal appearance
  • keikariman concerned with personal appearance
French métrosexuel
  • métrosexuelman concerned with personal appearance
German Metrosexueller
  • Metrosexuellerman concerned with personal appearance
Greek μετροσέξουαλ, κλαρινογαμπρός
  • μετροσέξουαλ (metroséxoual)man concerned with personal appearance
  • κλαρινογαμπρός (klarinogamprós)man concerned with personal appearance
Hebrew מטרוסקסואל
  • מטרוסקסואל (metroseksual)man concerned with personal appearance
Hungarian metroszexuális
  • metroszexuálisman concerned with personal appearance
Italian metrosessuale
  • metrosessualeman concerned with personal appearance
Japanese メトロセクシャル
  • メトロセクシャル (metorosekusharu)man concerned with personal appearance
Lithuanian metroseksualas
  • metroseksualasman concerned with personal appearance
Polish metroseksualny
  • metroseksualnyman concerned with personal appearance
Portuguese metrossexual
  • metrossexualman concerned with personal appearance
Romanian metrosexual
  • metrosexualman concerned with personal appearance
Russian метросексуа́л
  • метросексуа́л (metrosɛksuál)man concerned with personal appearance
Spanish metrosexual
  • metrosexualman concerned with personal appearance
Swedish metrosexuell
  • metrosexuellman concerned with personal appearance
Turkish metroseksüel
  • metroseksüelman concerned with personal appearance
Cite this entry
APA

metrosexual. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metrosexual

MLA

“metrosexual.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metrosexual. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “metrosexual,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metrosexual.

Source: metrosexual on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.