According to Google:
hottie
a sexually attractive person, especially a young woman.
What's the male version of the word? Or it is also used in men?
Example:
"Who's that hottie?" I asked Anna, pointing at the man across the pool.
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21Yes, it is also used for men (the word "especially" in this definition implies that it is not exclusively used for young women). You should describe more specifically what kind of word you want, and in what situation it would be used.– herissonCommented Jan 6, 2017 at 1:46
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@sumelic I added an example.– alexCommented Jan 6, 2017 at 1:57
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8Wait, women can be hotties, too? I never knew that!– tchrist ♦Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 4:33
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Mine's a pint of bitter and a hot tottie on the side!– Peter PointCommented Jan 6, 2017 at 6:17
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4When I saw the question title, my first thought was of a woman using it to describe a man, and I wondered if you maybe the question was actually asking for a less female-speaker-coded word. So yes, it is used for men.– mysteryCommented Jan 6, 2017 at 22:00
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7 Answers
Merriam-Webster has a gender-free definition of "hottie:"
a physically attractive person.
A quick Google search on "he's a hottie" yields many results.
answered Jan 6, 2017 at 1:50
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1It's fascinating that these answers have generated so much interest. I would be very curious to know whether men feel that "hottie," since it has what barely counts in English as a diminutive suffix, feels less comfortable than "hunk" or "stud," both of which imply a sense of "manliness" that "hottie" does not, since "hottie" is more general about attractiveness. Commented Jan 8, 2017 at 1:52
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2I would prefer to be called a stud. But I'm older; perhaps hottie has become more gender neutral these days. Commented Jan 8, 2017 at 3:14
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2@KatherineLockwood, (1) "-ie" is often more affectionate than strictly diminutive, e.g. "sweetie" or "dearie" (2) IDK about comfort, but in addition to being specifically masculine, "hunk" and "stud" do not imply the same level of affection that "hottie" does. "He's a stud" could be said by straight man; "He's a hottie" probably wouldn't. Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 4:58
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@KatherineLockwood In addition to what Paul Draper said, I think it also depends on how the person looks. A person can be a hunk and a hottie, but some people are just hotties, not hunks. Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 11:58
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It was good enough for The West Wing, one of the most popular and award-winning television shows in recent history. In the episode “365 Days,” Annabeth Schott suggests to the First Lady that “the hotties” are the reason that NASCAR is unusually popular with women, and then proceeds to show off pictures of several male drivers.– KRyanCommented Jan 9, 2017 at 16:47
Hunk is probably the word you are looking for
As per Collins dictionary, the definition of hunk is "a well-built, sexually attractive man"
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6I don't think this is a direct match. Unlike a "hunk", I don't think a "hottie" has to be "well built" (which I interpret to mean muscular). But sexually attractive, yes. Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 7:37
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31@ColinMackay There probably isn't an "exact match" because the traits that are generally considered attractive in men and women are not the same.– CaseyCommented Jan 6, 2017 at 15:18
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4@Casey Even when referring to men as viewed by women, though, they aren't really an exact match. As Katherine's answer points out, "hottie" normally just means "physically attractive" without implying which particular features were found attractive.– reirabCommented Jan 6, 2017 at 21:01
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@reirab It's pretty unusual for a man to be considered physically attractive if he has a poor physique. He doesn't have to be overly muscular, but he shouldn't be flabby.– BarmarCommented Jan 9, 2017 at 17:24
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@Barmar True, but, at least in my (AmE) experience, females tend to use 'hunk' to mean "overly muscular," while 'hottie' is a broader term which includes that, but also includes the "not overly muscular, but also not flabby" crowd that you mention. This is not to say that there are no counter-example uses, just that the difference in usage seems to be enough for the words to have somewhat different connotations.– reirabCommented Jan 9, 2017 at 17:31
I would suggest using word stud, but it gives quite a virile connotation. Citing Merriam Webster 3,
Stud: [...] a young man: guy; especially: one who is virile and promiscuous.
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4Don't think this is right. Hotties are not necessarily promiscuous. Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 13:21
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21@LightnessRacesinOrbit As a native speaker, I mostly heard stud referring to attractive, muscular guys, not necessarily implying promiscuity.– LonidardCommented Jan 6, 2017 at 13:22
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5To be fair, so have I. But I'm going off what you cited :) Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 13:27
A specifically male version of hottie would be dreamboat.
The term fox is usually used in reference to a male, while foxy is the female version.
The term dish or dishy is most often used in reference to a male.
Each of these terms has been in use for some time and therefore may appear to be a bit dated today.
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12
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1"foxy" as the female version? Maybe, but you could also use "vixen" (which is literally a female fox). Also, I'd say "fox" applies more to older men. Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 7:40
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2@ColinMackay - An older man is a "silver fox". The "silver" referring to hair colour, and thus the part that denotes "older".– AndyTCommented Jan 6, 2017 at 11:11
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4The main difference between fox and foxy is that one is a noun and the other is an adjective. Fox can refer to men, but both are used to refer to women, or at least were when the terms were actually in common use. Even half a century ago The Doors had a song about a woman called "Twentieth Century Fox." Commented Jan 6, 2017 at 18:43
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1@ColinMackay vixen is wrong. When a woman is "foxy", it has a sexual/attractive connotation. A "vixen" however is vicious and mean. It is basically the same as calling her a "bitch".– A. LevyCommented Jan 8, 2017 at 3:39
(as others have stated) Hottie is not gender specific. However, if you wanted a more male specific version, stud might apply (however this is more antiquated)
Since 'hottie' is not particularly powerful or vulgar (as I perceive it anyway), and since it's not gender-specific but used to describe women more than men - I would consider heartthrob - also not gender-specific, but IIRC used to describe men more than it does women.
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I would say heartthrob carries more of an emotional nuance that isn't present in hottie (which to my mind is more about physical attractiveness). Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 9:54
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This search result shows that "hottie" is also used for men.
