sexo

English

Alternative forms

• sexoh

Etymology

Etymology tree

English sex

Latin ō

Old French ohbor.

Middle English o

English O

▲

Middle English o

English oh

English -o

English sexo

From sex + -o.

Pronunciation

• enPR: sĕks′ō
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛks.əʊ̯/, /ˈseks.əʊ̯/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛks.oʊ̯/
• (Australia, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈseks.ɐʉ̯/; (also Australia) /ˈseks.əʉ̯/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛks.o/
• (India) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛ(ː)ks.oː/
• Rhymes: -ɛksəʊ
• Hyphenation: sex‧o

Noun

sexo (uncountable) (slang)

1. (Australia, New Zealand) A sexual offender.
   • 1963, Ronald Hugh Morrieson, The Scarecrow, Text Classics, published 2012, page 145:

     ‘Maybe it's only me,’ said Prudence. ‘Maybe he's only laying for me. Maybe he's a sex-oh.’

   • 1998 September 5, The Guardian:

     [Y]ou don’t want to be a sexo or kid fucker in parrie Max, unless you’re cunning as a shithouse rat.

3. Synonym of sex (“sexual intercourse”).

Further reading

• “sexo n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present.
• “sexo”, in Urban Dictionary, launched 1999.

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈse̞k.su]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈsɛk.so]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈsɛk.su]
• Rhymes: (Central) -ɛksu, (Balearic, Valencia) -ɛkso
• Hyphenation: se‧xo

Verb

sexo

1. first-person singular present indicative of sexar

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈsɛk.soː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈsɛk.so]
• Hyphenation: se‧xō

Noun

sexō

1. ablative singular of sexus

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.su/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛk.su/

• Rhymes: (Brazil, Portugal) -ɛksu
• Hyphenation: se‧xo

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sek-der.

Proto-Indo-European *séks-u-sder.

Proto-Italic *seksus

Proto-Indo-European *sek-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *sékh₁yeti

Proto-Italic *sekaō

Latin secō

Latin secāre?

Latin sexusbor.

Portuguese sexo

Borrowed from Latin sexus.

Noun

sexo m (plural sexos)

2. sex
   2. (countable) category into which sexually-reproducing organisms are divided on the basis of their reproductive roles in their species

      o sexo masculino ― males (literally, “the masculine sex”)

      o sexo feminino ― females (literally, “the feminine sex”)

   4. (countable) another category, especially for humans and often separable, based on non-physical traits or roles; gender

      Synonyms: (Portugal) género, (Brazil) gênero

   6. (uncountable) sexual intercourse
   8. (countable) sex organ, genitalia

      Synonyms: genitália, órgão genital, órgão sexual

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

sexo

1. first-person singular present indicative of sexar

Further reading

• “sexo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “sexo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “sexo”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɡso/ [ˈseɣ̞.so]
• Rhymes: -eɡso
• Syllabification: se‧xo

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sek-der.

Proto-Indo-European *séks-u-sder.

Proto-Italic *seksus

Proto-Indo-European *sek-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *sékh₁yeti

Proto-Italic *sekaō

Latin secō

Latin secāre?

Latin sexusbor.

Spanish sexo

Borrowed from Latin sexus.

Noun

sexo m (plural sexos)

2. sex (the biological category)
4. (collective) sex (men or women)

   Near-synonyms: varones (“men”), mujeres (“women”)

6. sex (the act)
8. sex organ

   Synonym: genitales

Derived terms

• bello sexo
• discutir sobre el sexo de los ángeles
• hormona de sexo
• sexo anal
• sexo débil
• sexo feo
• sexo fuerte
• sexo grupal
• sexo opuesto
• sexo oral
• sexo vaginal
• tener sexo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

sexo

1. first-person singular present indicative of sexar

Further reading

• “sexo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025