Collocation: sex

sex noun

1 male or female

adjective

female , male

opposite

At that age they can start becoming shy with the opposite ~.

same

people of the same ~

same-sex couples/partners

same-sex relationships / marriages /weddings

fair , fairer , gentle , weaker (= women; some women may find these terms offensive) ( humorous )

They tend to consider women as the weaker ~ in need of care and protection.

verb + sex

determine

ultrasound tests to determine the ~ of a baby

Sex is determined by chromosomal content.

change

For a long time I wanted to change my ~.

be attracted to

to be attracted to the opposite ~

sex + noun

change

to have a ~ change

a sex-change operation

equality

issues of ~ equality in the office

discrimination , inequality

ratio

difference

The theory predicts ~ differences in the brain.

chromosome

the X and Y ~ chromosomes

hormone

preposition

between the   ~es

differences/ inequalities / relations between the ~es

phrases

the battle of the ~es

The quiz is a battle of the ~es between teams of male and female students.

equality between the ~es , equality of the ~es

on (the) grounds of ~ ( BrE )

discrimination on grounds of ~

irrespective of ~ , regardless of ~

The word ‘man’ can refer to all humans, irrespective of ~.

a member of the opposite ~

This will help us meet attractive members of the opposite ~.

2 sexual intercourse

adjective

anal , oral , penetrative ( esp. BrE ) , vaginal ( esp. AmE )

gay , homosexual , lesbian

heterosexual , straight

good , great , hot , passionate , wild

rough

kinky

safe

Always practise / practice safe ~!

unprotected , unsafe

consensual , non - consensual

extramarital , illicit , premarital

anonymous , casual , promiscuous

group

public (= sex in public places)

explicit , graphic , gratuitous , hard-core , steamy

Movies containing scenes of explicit ~ are banned.

Internet , phone

underage , unlawful ( BrE )

He was convicted of having unlawful ~ with an underage girl.

teen ( esp. AmE ) , teenage

verb + sex

engage in , have

She had never had ~ before.

consent to

refuse

get , obtain

sex + noun

life

a healthy ~ life

drive , urge

a low ~ drive

appeal

Despite his age, he still has a lot of ~ appeal.

act

photos showing ~ acts

therapist , therapy

partner ( esp. AmE )

I have had several ~ partners over the years.

organ

education

She is an advocate of abstinence-only ~ education. ( AmE )

comprehensive ~ education ( esp. AmE )

scandal

abuse , assault ( esp. BrE ) , attack ( BrE ) , crime , offence/offense

He was arrested for ~ crimes.

fiend ( informal ) , offender , pest ( BrE , informal )

convicted ~ offenders

registered ~ offenders

addict , maniac

He had a reputation of being a ~ maniac.

film , scene , show

comedy

kitten , symbol

She wants to be known as a singer rather than as a ~ symbol.

object

Women are viewed as ~ objects and exploited to sell products.

club , shop

aid , toy

industry

worker

In this zone, prostitution is legal, but ~ workers must be at least 18.

tourism

trafficking

to crack down on international ~ trafficking

slave

preposition

~   between

~ between consenting adults

~   with

~ with her husband

phrases

~, drugs and rock 'n' roll ( humorous )

~ and violence

~ and violence in today's liberal media

~ outside of marriage

They teach that ~ outside of marriage is wrong.

~ sells

Sex sells, the advertisers believe.