girl

American  

[gurl] / gɜrl /

noun

• girls
  plural

1. a female child, from birth to full growth.

2. a young, immature woman, especially formerly, an unmarried one.

3. a daughter.

   My wife and I have two girls.

4. Informal: Sometimes Offensive. a grown woman, especially when referred to familiarly.

   She's having the girls over for bridge next week.

5. a girlfriend; sweetheart.

6. Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female servant, as a maid.

7. Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female employee, especially an office assistant.

8. a female who is from or native to a given place.

   She's a Missouri girl.

9. (used with a singular or plural verb) girls,

   1. a range of sizes from 7 to 14, for garments made for girls.

   2. a garment in this size range.

   3. the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.

10. Slang. girls, one's breasts (usually preceded by the, my, etc., and primarily used self-referentially by women).

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girl British  

/ ɡɜːl /

noun

1. a female child from birth to young womanhood

2. a young unmarried woman; lass; maid

3. informal a sweetheart or girlfriend

4. informal a woman of any age

5. an informal word for daughter

6. a female employee, esp a female servant

7. derogatory a Black female servant of any age

8. informal (usually plural) a group of women, esp acquaintances

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Sensitivity

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

• girls
  plural

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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)

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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

See Examples For:

girl girls

Phillips is halfway to becoming the first girl to win four City individual titles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

"She was a Skewen girl, so it's tremendous."

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

He only knows it had a firefighter who meets a girl with cats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Soffin had watched that little girl grow up and eventually become a member of Congress.

From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026

At the front of the pack, the bearish boy stretched his stick toward the red.shoed girl.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Gabby is one of those girls who exists in permanent cringe mode, embarrassed by all things but mostly by herself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Santa Margarita’s domination in high school girls golf continued Monday, with the Eagles winning the Southern Section Division 1 team title by four strokes over Orange Lutheran at Los Serranos Golf Club.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

This unexpected distinction could provide insight into why autism is diagnosed substantially more often in boys than girls.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026

"The girls in my class would save pictures from their Jackie magazines and I'd collect them in scrapbooks," he said.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Then he saw three farm girls riding toward him.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

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Related Words

• child
• kid
• little one
• young one
• youngster

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