Definition of Sex Assigned at Birth
(noun) The label, typically male or female, given to an infant based on medical standards for sex characteristics.
Sex Assigned at Birth Pronunciation
Syllabification: sex as·signed at birth
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /sEks uh-sIEnd uht bUHRth/
- British English – /sEks uh-sIEnd UHt bUHRth/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /sɛks əˈsaɪnd æt bɜrθ/
- British English – /sɛks əˈsaɪnd æt bɜːθ/
Usage Notes
- Plural: sexes assigned at birth
- Abbreviation: SAAB
- These standards are based on external genital appearance. Some nations such as Germany are now allowing infants to be categorized as intersex at birth.
- MAAB indicates male assigned at birth and FAAB indicates female assigned at birth.
Additional Information
- Role Theory Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Sex and Gender Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “sex” and “assign” and “at” and “birth” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Rosenblum, Karen Elaine, and Toni-Michelle Travis. 2016. The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, Sexual Orientation, and Disability. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Related Terms
Cite the Definition of Sex Assigned at Birth
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2017. “sex assigned at birth.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved October 2, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/sex-assigned-at-birth/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
sex assigned at birth. (2017). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/sex-assigned-at-birth/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2017. “sex assigned at birth.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed October 2, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/sex-assigned-at-birth/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“sex assigned at birth.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2017. Web. 2 Oct. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/sex-assigned-at-birth/>.