girl
Americannoun
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girls
plural
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a female child, from birth to full growth.
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a young, immature woman, especially formerly, an unmarried one.
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a daughter.
My wife and I have two girls.
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Informal: Sometimes Offensive. a grown woman, especially when referred to familiarly.
She's having the girls over for bridge next week.
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a girlfriend; sweetheart.
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Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female servant, as a maid.
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Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female employee, especially an office assistant.
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a female who is from or native to a given place.
She's a Missouri girl.
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(used with a singular or plural verb) girls,
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a range of sizes from 7 to 14, for garments made for girls.
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a garment in this size range.
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the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.
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Slang. girls, one's breasts (usually preceded by the, my, etc., and primarily used self-referentially by women).
noun
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a female child from birth to young womanhood
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a young unmarried woman; lass; maid
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informal a sweetheart or girlfriend
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informal a woman of any age
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an informal word for daughter
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a female employee, esp a female servant
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derogatory a Black female servant of any age
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informal (usually plural) a group of women, esp acquaintances
Sensitive Note
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.
Usage
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."
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
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)
Explanation
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.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Another woman said her 12-year-old daughter was a classmate of the dead girl.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
In another, the Balanchine ballerina Diana Adams struts around as a jealous, leggy hatcheck girl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
A major search operation was launched after concerns were raised for a young girl in Gore Glen Woodland Park near Gorebridge at about 12:40 on Thursday.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Billy played the final girl in the 1983 original film, then disappeared.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
He was close enough now to see that the girl was fighting the current, arms flapping with frenzied determination to keep her head above water.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The charity Save the Children has called for urgent efforts to locate and register all minors, warning that girls in particular face "heightened risks of violence, trafficking and exploitation".
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
The men were released, and she wanted them to perform with her dance company on the outside, Figures in Flight, which consisted of a dozen teenage girls.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Last month, two girls in San Diego County were airlifted to a burn center after flames went in their direction while they were roasting marshmallows on a device called Flikr Fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The government said it was "taking bold and decisive action to halve violence against women and girls", with changes being introduced from September to help teachers challenge misogyny.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Three girls fly past us, their strides so smooth it doesn’t look like they’re even exerting themselves.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
