sexed

Sexed is an adjective or past participle form of the verb sex, used in biology and agriculture to indicate that an organism's biological sex has been determined or that a product has been prepared to favor one sex. In biology, sexing is the process of determining whether an individual is male, female, or otherwise sexed, depending on the species. Methods range from visual assessment of gonads or sex organs to genetic testing, including DNA-based markers or karyotyping. In many contexts, animals are described as sexed when their sex has been established to guide breeding, rearing, or management decisions.

In poultry and other livestock industries, sexing is common. Early sexing of day-old chicks may use vent examination or feathering patterns in some species; in other cases sexing is confirmed later. The term sexed may also apply to eggs, embryos, or hatchlings that have had their sex identified. A related concept is sexed semen, where sperm carrying a specific sex chromosome is enriched by laboratory techniques such as flow cytometry. This can increase the likelihood of offspring of a desired sex, particularly in cattle, goats, and sheep, but it adds cost and may affect fertility rates.

In human clinical contexts, sex determination can be essential for diagnosing sex chromosome disorders or guiding certain prenatal or fertility decisions, using noninvasive or invasive genetic testing. The phrase sexed can appear in medical or research reports to indicate that sex has been determined.

Note that sexed up is an informal, slang expression meaning made more sexual or sensational, and is not related to biological sex determination.