«the Indiana girl,» from the name of her pa’s hotel, though it must be confessed that the sweet name of _girl_ seems sadly incongruous when applied to such a gigantic piece of humanity. ❋ Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe (N/A)
She’s not only the prettiest girl I’ve seen for many a year, but she’s _the girl_. » ❋ George [Illustrator] Loughridge (N/A)
I want to say I’m the new «girl,» but unless you are in the South where the term girl is used as commonly as «you» in some places, I think I’m past qualifying… ❋ Lori Devoti (2009)
«I think some people don’t understand the word ‘girl crush,'» she said. ❋ Mike Vilensky (2011)
The main girl is a cutter who starts hanging out with a Goth girl and going to Goth clubs. ❋ Little Willow (2006)
As a Brit in France who has just aquired a French Lady Friend, we are too old for the term girl friend! ❋ Unknown (2005)
Remember, Every virgin girl is saving herself for YOU. ❋ Unknown (2002)
I did not mean to offend you by using the term girl; I was going to assure you that we had no need of the decanter. ❋ Susanna Moodie (1844)
The word boy when used for an African American man is a fighting word, as is the word girl when applied to women. ❋ Victoria Pynchon (2011)
Even deciding to help the girl is a huge step for Tigre. ❋ Unknown (2009)
I’ll buy your interpretation that the girl is a metaphor for all poor urban life, though it sounds like an afterthought or excuse, because the film does not present itself that way and most people wont read it that way. ❋ Unknown (2010)
Friction grows between Ehwa and her mother, as the girl is always wanting to go out and find Duksam, while ignoring her duties and chores. ❋ Unknown (2010)
Any guy who beats up on a girl is a loser and he deserves to go to jail for a long time … anyone who says differently is an idiot! ❋ Unknown (2009)
This girl is a self-centered, flamboyant, obvious phony. ❋ Unknown (2009)
Drugging and raping a girl is about as bad as it gets. ❋ Unknown (2009)
To me, the girl is the character in the movie, not some actress playing a role. ❋ Unknown (2009)
When a girl is aware that time slips by and can never be recovered, she will come to see the difference between wise thinking and harmful idleness. ❋ Unknown (2009)
[What a] [cute] [little girl]! ❋ Sarahsuke (2003)
[I can’t] [get this] girl [to love] me. ❋ I Swear To Drunk I’m Not God (2005)
That [beautiful girl] could [never be] [mine] ❋ Loveless Soul (2008)
[Its time] of the [god damn] month again and yet I am [still here] on this god damn earth. ❋ Kat (2005)
[This girl] is an [amazing] [creature]. ❋ Asdfsaf (2008)
Girls need lots of love.
That little girl is truly an angel.
Sexist people, [get out of my way]. Short-sighted, narrow-minded, condescending, [chauvinistic] hypocrites. You’re all just a bunch of big babies. Let’s not regress ourselves to the [stone age]. ❋ Kurt (2005)
Proof that girls are evil:
First, girls [need time] and money:
Girl = Time * Money
And we know that time is money:
Girl = Money * Money
We also know that money is [the root of all evil]:
Money = Evil ^ 1/2
Therefore:
Money ^ 2 = Evil
So we are forced to [conclude] that:
Girl = Evil ❋ My Dick (2003)
[who is] [that girl] ❋ Nicole Frits (2017)
U should [Leave] [girls] [alone] ❋ Paige Kuehne (2017)
Those [stupid] [pedophiles] better not [touch] that girl! ❋ Happyatcommonsense (2015)
- Top Definitions
- Quiz
- Related Content
- More About Girl
- Examples
- British
This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
See synonyms for: girl / girls on Thesaurus.com
This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
noun
a female child, from birth to full growth.
a young, immature woman, especially formerly, an unmarried one.
a daughter: My wife and I have two girls.
Informal: Sometimes Offensive. a grown woman, especially when referred to familiarly: She’s having the girls over for bridge next week.
Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female servant, as a maid.
Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female employee, especially an office assistant.
a female who is from or native to a given place: She’s a Missouri girl.
girls, (used with a singular or plural verb)
- a range of sizes from 7 to 14, for garments made for girls.
- a garment in this size range.
- the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.
girls, Slang. one’s breasts (usually preceded by the, my, etc., and primarily used self-referentially by women).
QUIZ
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Origin of girl
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English gurle, girle, gerle “child, young person”; compare Old English gyrela, gi(e)rela “item of dress, apparel” (presumably worn by the young in the late Old English period, and hence used as a metonym)
usage note for girl
Some adult women are offended if referred to as a girl, or informally, a gal. However, a group of adult female friends often refer to themselves as the girls, and their “girls night out” implies the company of adult females. Also, a woman may express camaraderie by addressing another woman as girl, as in You go, girl! or Attagirl!
Referring to one’s female office assistant or housekeeper as the girl or my girl, once in common use, is now considered unacceptable. Working girl, meaning “a woman who works,” girl/gal Friday, meaning “a female office assistant,” and other occupational terms such as career girl and college girl, are also dated and often perceived as insulting. Working girl as a slang term meaning “a prostitute” is sometimes used by female prostitutes as a euphemistic self-reference. See also lady, woman.
Words nearby girl
girdlescone, girdle-tailed lizard, girdle traverse, gird one’s loins, Girgenti, girl, girl band, girl Friday, girlfriend, girlfriend experience, girl guide
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
MORE ABOUT GIRL
Where does the word girl come from?
The word girl, meaning “a female child,” originally meant any “child” or “young person,” regardless of gender. Girl, for “child,” is recorded around 1250–1300.
However, the original source of the word is uncertain. Scholars point to Old English words like gyrela, “an item of dress, apparel,” presumably of a type worn by and popular with a young person back then.
Guess what other word has obscure roots? Boy. Discover why in our slideshow “‘Dog,’ ‘Boy,’ And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came From.”
Did you know … ?
While it is usually used to mean “female child,” the word girl is also sometimes used in reference to young adult or adult women, such as in girl bands or a girlfriend. Parents also use the word girls for their daughters of any age.
While it is often used in a similar manner to its male counterpart boy, the word girl can have sexist implications that boy does not—although boy has its own racist past. For example, the idea of “a boy acting like a girl” is often used as a sexist or even anti-gay insult that doesn’t have an exact equivalent in “a girl acting like a boy.” The word tomboy, in fact, can often carry a positive connotation.
Similarly, referring to adult women as girls can have demeaning or sexist implications that aren’t always as prevalent when using boy to refer to an adult man (e.g., “Boys will be boys”).
That said, please note that referring to a Black adult man or other male members of minority groups as boy is racist.
Words related to girl
How to use girl in a sentence
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Another cheer parent, April Grant, told VOSD she also found the reasoning they cut Ingalls’ daughter suspect, because several other girls caught vaping in recent years made the team.
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If you find a girl who is interested in calculus, you don’t squash that.
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She’s the girl next door that millennials grew up with, from her debut on Saved by the Bell and as a cheerleader on Bring It On.
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Data from the CRISPR’d baby girls, for example, showed that the experiment littered their genomes with off-target edits at the embryo stage.
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The good news is that the Malala Fund and its partners are working to mitigate some of the current challenges to girls’ learning.
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The brother of a girl who made her debut in New Orleans society was shaking his fists in excitement.
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But, but … there was a token black girl in the background, Target cried in its defense!
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Once upon a time, a girl named Onika Maraj dreamed of being an actress.
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But religious tolerance would be a wholesome goodie for every boy and girl.
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They made quiet plans together, saying that when they had a child together, they wanted a girl called Grace.
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Was he really condemned to an eternal solitude because of the girl who had died so many years ago?
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The two little Pontelliers were with him, and he carried Madame Ratignolle’s little girl in his arms.
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«I hope you don’t think I speak always to strangers, like that,» said the girl in the rose hat.
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The young man smiled at the girl, as he crushed up the notes and stuffed them into his pocket.
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Sometimes it was a young girl, again a widow; but as often as not it was some interesting married woman.
British Dictionary definitions for girl
noun
a female child from birth to young womanhood
a young unmarried woman; lass; maid
informal a sweetheart or girlfriend
informal a woman of any age
a female employee, esp a female servant
Southern African derogatory a Black female servant of any age
the girls (usually plural) informal a group of women, esp acquaintances
Word Origin for girl
C13: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Low German Göre boy, girl
usage for girl
The use of girl as in meaning 4, to refer to a woman of any age, is highly likely to be considered old-fashioned or to cause offence
Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
-
Defenition of the word girl
- A young female person, usually a child or teenager.
- a female human offspring; «her daughter cared for her in her old age»
- a youthful female person; «the baby was a girl»; «the girls were just learning to ride a tricycle»
- a friendly informal reference to a grown woman; «Mrs. Smith was just one of the girls»
- a young woman; «a young lady of 18»
- a girl or young woman with whom a man is romantically involved; «his girlfriend kicked him out»
- a female human offspring
- a youthful female person
- a young woman
- a friendly informal reference to a grown woman
- a girl or young woman with whom a man is romantically involved
Synonyms for the word girl
-
- child
- daughter
- female child
- fille
- girlfriend
- lady friend
- lass
- little girl
- miss
- missy
- schoolgirl
- teenager
- young lady
- young woman
- youngster
Similar words in the girl
-
- girl
- girl’s
- girlfriends
- girlhood
- girlhood’s
- girlhoods
- girlish
- girlishly
Hyponyms for the word girl
-
- babe
- baby
- bachelor girl
- belle
- bimbo
- bird
- campfire girl
- chachka
- chick
- chit
- colleen
- dame
- doll
- farm girl
- flapper
- flower girl
- gal
- gamine
- Gibson girl
- girl scout
- hoyden
- jeune fille
- lass
- lassie
- maid
- maiden
- May queen
- mill-girl
- moppet
- mother’s daughter
- party girl
- peri
- queen of the May
- ring girl
- romp
- rosebud
- schoolgirl
- scout
- sex bomb
- sex kitten
- sexpot
- shop girl
- sister
- skirt
- soubrette
- sweater girl
- tchotchke
- tchotchkeleh
- tomboy
- tsatske
- tshatshke
- valley girl
- wench
- working girl
- young girl
Hypernyms for the word girl
-
- adult female
- female
- female offspring
- female person
- lover
- woman
Antonyms for the word girl
-
- boy
- child
- male child
- son
See other words
-
- What is honey
- The definition of slice
- The interpretation of the word spy
- What is meant by spice
- The lexical meaning bread
- The dictionary meaning of the word garlic
- The grammatical meaning of the word carrot
- Meaning of the word push
- Literal and figurative meaning of the word pull
- The origin of the word glory
- Synonym for the word grip
- Antonyms for the word native
- Homonyms for the word float
- Hyponyms for the word flaming
- Holonyms for the word furniture
- Hypernyms for the word frustrate
- Proverbs and sayings for the word globe
- Translation of the word in other languages gold
Other forms: girls
A girl is a young woman, or a female child. If you have a 3-year-old daughter you have a little girl.
Girl comes from the Middle English garl, but no one knows where that word came from. It used to mean a child of either sex, but now it’s only used for female children, paired with the word boy. A girl can be very young, or a young woman who’s not quite out on her own in the world yet. Adults in relationships who aren’t married call their female loves their girlfriend, even when the girl in question is really a woman.
Definitions of girl
-
-
synonyms:
fille, miss, missy, young lady, young woman
see moresee less-
examples:
-
Io
(Greek mythology) a maiden seduced by Zeus; when Hera was about to discover them together Zeus turned her into a white heifer
-
types:
- show 29 types…
- hide 29 types…
-
babe, baby, sister
(slang) sometimes used as a term of address for attractive young women
-
belle
a young woman who is the most charming and beautiful of several rivals
-
bimbo
a young woman indulged by rich and powerful older men
-
chachka, tchotchke, tchotchkeleh, tsatske, tshatshke
(Yiddish) an attractive, unconventional woman
-
chit
a dismissive term for a girl who is immature or who lacks respect
-
colleen
an Irish girl
-
bird, chick, dame, doll, skirt, wench
informal terms for a (young) woman
-
flapper
a young woman in the 1920s who flaunted her unconventional conduct and dress
-
gal
alliterative term for girl (or woman)
-
gamine
a girl of impish appeal
-
Gibson girl
the idealized American girl of the 1890s as pictured by C. D. Gibson
-
jeune fille, lass, lassie, young girl
a girl or young woman who is unmarried
-
maid, maiden
an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
-
May queen, queen of the May
the girl chosen queen of a May Day festival
-
mill-girl
a girl who works in a mill
-
party girl
an attractive young woman hired to attend parties and entertain men
-
peri
a beautiful and graceful girl
-
ring girl
a young woman who holds up cards indicating the number of the next round at prize fights
-
rosebud
(a literary reference to) a pretty young girl
-
sex bomb, sex kitten, sexpot
a young woman who is thought to have sex appeal
-
shop girl
a young female shop assistant
-
soubrette
a pert or flirtatious young girl
-
sweater girl
a girl with an attractive bust who wears tight sweaters
-
hoyden, romp, tomboy
a girl who behaves in a boyish manner
-
valley girl
a girl who grew up in the tract housing in the San Fernando Valley
-
working girl
a young woman who is employed
-
bobby-socker, bobbysoxer
an adolescent girl wearing bobby socks (common in the 1940s)
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damoiselle, damosel, damozel, damsel, demoiselle
a young unmarried woman
-
Lolita
a sexually precocious young girl
-
type of:
-
adult female, woman
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
-
Io
-
noun
a youthful female person
“the baby was a
girl”“the
girls were just learning to ride a tricycle”-
synonyms:
female child, little girl
-
noun
a girl or young woman with whom a man is romantically involved
-
noun
a friendly informal reference to a grown woman
“Mrs. Smith was just one of the
girls” -
noun
a female human offspring
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘girl’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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Thesaurus
Synonyms of girl
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as in maiden
-
as in filly
-
as in girlfriend
- as in maiden
- as in filly
- as in girlfriend
-
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girl
noun
Definition of girl
1
as in maiden
a young unmarried woman
he’s engaged to a girl that his parents really like
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
-
maiden
-
maid
-
virgin
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sister
-
damsel
-
filly
-
miss
-
demoiselle
-
bird
-
lass
-
debutante
-
ingenue
-
ingénue
-
lassie
-
senorita
-
sheila
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chit
-
deb
-
señorita
-
colleen
-
mademoiselle
-
senhorita
2
as in filly
a female person who has not yet reached adulthood
when I was a girl, I wanted a horse so badly
Synonyms & Similar Words
-
filly
-
lass
-
missy
-
lassie
-
pixie
-
nymph
-
miss
-
sheila
-
schoolgirl
-
pixy
-
teenybopper
-
tomboy
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junior miss
-
bobby—soxer
-
hoyden
-
romp
-
subdebutante
-
gamine
-
snip
3
as in girlfriend
a female romantic companion
found an old letter by my grandfather asking my grandmother to be his girl
Synonyms & Similar Words
-
girlfriend
-
woman
-
gal
-
lady
-
lover
-
mistress
-
ladylove
-
inamorata
-
gill
-
sweetheart
-
old lady
-
sweet
-
dear
-
moll
-
valentine
-
beloved
-
love
-
darling
-
flame
-
favorite
-
honey
-
significant other
Phrases Containing girl
- call girl
- house girl
- call girl
- house girl
Articles Related to girl
8 Words for Other People’s Children
Brats, ankle biters, and other holy terrors
8 Old Words for Young People
Whippersnapper
Thesaurus Entries Near girl
girds
girl
girl Friday
See More Nearby Entries 
Cite this Entry
Style
“Girl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/girl. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on girl
Nglish: Translation of girl for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of girl for Arabic Speakers
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