Gynecomastia, pronounced /ˌɡaɪnɨkoʊˈmæstiə/ is the development of abnormally large mammary glands in males resulting in breast enlargement. The term comes from the Greek γυνή gyne (stem gynaik-) meaning "woman" and μαστός mastos meaning "breast". The condition can occur physiologically in neonates (due to female hormones from the mother; this is called witches' milk), in adolescence, and in the elderly.

In adolescent boys the condition is often a source of distress, but for the large majority of boys whose pubescent gynecomastia is not due to obesity, the breast development shrinks or disappears within a couple of years. The causes of common gynecomastia remain uncertain, although it has generally been attributed to an imbalance of sex hormones or the tissue responsiveness to them; a root cause is rarely determined for individual cases. Breast prominence can result from hypertrophy of breast tissue, chest adipose tissue and skin, and is typically a combination.

Breast prominence due solely to excessive adipose is often termed pseudogynecomastia or sometimes lipomastia. Gynecomastia should be distinguished from work hypertrophy of the pectoralis muscles caused by much exercise, e.g. swimming, bench press. Gynecomastia is not physically harmful, but in some cases can be an indicator of other more serious underlying conditions.

Growing glandular tissue, typically from some form of hormonal stimulation, is often tender or painful. Furthermore, it can frequently present social and psychological difficulties for the sufferer. Weight loss can alter the condition in cases where it is triggered by obesity, but losing weight will not reduce the glandular component and patients cannot target areas for weight loss.

Massive weight loss can result in sagging tissues about the chest, chest ptosis. The size and geometry of the fibro-glandular tissue present is unique to each patient. This results in a range of physically apparent aesthetic deformities, for which, classification systems have been devised.

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