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• virgin
  virgin

  noun

  a person who has never had sexual intercourse.
• Virgin
  Virgin

  noun

  See Virgin Mary

virgin

American  

[vur-jin] / ˈvɜr dʒɪn /

noun

• virgins
  plural

1. a person who has never had sexual intercourse.

2. an unmarried girl or woman.

   Synonyms:

   maiden, maid

3. Ecclesiastical. an unmarried, religious woman, especially a saint.

4. the Virgin, Mary, the mother of Christ.

5. Informal. any person who is uninitiated, uninformed, or the like.

   He's still a virgin as far as hard work is concerned.

6. a female animal that has never copulated.

7. an unfertilized insect.

8. Astronomy, Astrology. Virgin, the constellation or sign of Virgo.

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adjective

1. being a virgin.

   a virgin martyr.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of a virgin.

   virgin modesty.

3. pure; unsullied; undefiled.

   virgin snow.

   Synonyms:

   chaste

   Antonyms:

   defiled

4. first.

   the senator's virgin speech.

5. without admixture, alloy, or modification.

   virgin gold.

   Synonyms:

   unadulterated, unalloyed

   Antonyms:

   impure

6. not previously exploited, cultivated, tapped, or used: virgin wool.

   virgin timberlands;

   virgin wool.

   Synonyms:

   untouched, pristine, new

7. without experience of; not previously exposed to.

   a mind virgin to such sorrows.

8. Informal. being a mixed drink resembling a specific cocktail but made without any alcoholic ingredient.

   a virgin piña colada.

9. Zoology. not fertilized.

10. (of a metal) made directly from ore by smelting, rather than from scrap.

11. noting the oil obtained, as from olives, by the first pressing without the application of heat.

virgin ¹ British  

/ ˈvɜːdʒɪn /

noun

1. a person, esp a woman, who has never had sexual intercourse

2. an unmarried woman who has taken a religious vow of chastity in order to dedicate herself totally to God

3. any female animal that has never mated

4. a female insect that produces offspring by parthenogenesis

5. a person who is new to or inexperienced in a specified field

   a political virgin

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adjective

1. of, relating to, resembling, suitable for, or characteristic of a virgin or virgins; chaste

2. pure and natural, uncorrupted, unsullied, or untouched

   virgin purity

3. not yet cultivated, explored, exploited, etc, by man

   virgin territories

4. being the first or happening for the first time

5. (of vegetable oils) obtained directly by the first pressing of fruits, leaves, or seeds of plants without applying heat

6. (of a metal) made from an ore rather than from scrap

7. occurring naturally in a pure and uncombined form

   virgin silver

8. physics (of a neutron) not having experienced a collision

Virgin ² British  

/ ˈvɜːdʒɪn /

noun

1. See Virgin Mary

2. a statue or other artistic representation of the Virgin Mary

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Virgin ³ British  

/ ˈvɜːdʒɪn /

noun

1. the constellation Virgo, the sixth sign of the zodiac

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unvirgin
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• virgins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of virgin

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English virgine, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin virgin-, stem of virgō “maiden, virgin”

Explanation

A virgin is someone who has never had sex. After you have sex, you've lost your virginity. We can also say an unharvested forest is a virgin forest. Virgins haven't had sex yet. But this word is also used in a non-sexual sense to describe something that remains pristine, untouched, or uninitiated. A virgin resource hasn't been used yet. If you've never given a speech, someone might call you a "public speaking virgin." So virgin always means inexperienced or unused, whether you're talking about sex or something else.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

virgin Virgin virgins

It is the last plant in the UK producing virgin steel, which is used in major construction projects like buildings and railways.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Shirley Temple gets passing recognition, only via her namesake drink when the Minions visit a nightclub and sip virgin cocktails loaded with cherries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

My favorites are Mina’s Moroccan style sardines in tomato sauce and sardines in extra virgin olive oil with lemon.

From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026

At 9:47 this evening, after a virgin mojito and fish tacos, I complete a deck titled “Why Putting Yourself First Is Good for Salmon.”

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

He now had a plantation; inside of two years he had dragged house and gardens out of virgin swamp, and plowed and planted his land with seed cotton which General Compson loaned him.

From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner

A Virgin Atlantic engineer has died nearly a month after sustaining injuries while carrying out maintenance work on a commercial airplane at Heathrow Airport.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

"And just like with any miracle... you just can't forget about it, because it's simply impossible to forget," he added, gazing up at the Virgin.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

The Catholic church is deeply entrenched in Poland's national identity and the Virgin Mary is considered the country's patron and protector, even as it undergoes one of the fastest rates of secularisation worldwide.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Marian images are common in viceregal art—the Virgin played an important role in converting peoples—and many simply copy traditional European depictions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Water Island is supposed to be a part of the United States Virgin Islands, but we were never sainted like Saint Thomas or Saint John or Saint Croix, and so everyone forgets we exist.

From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender

Working with mice, the researchers first created four test groups: unstressed virgins, stressed virgins, unstressed mothers and stressed mothers.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 16, 2024

"She apparently bathed in the blood of virgins to maintain her youth," Liz said.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2023

Before we start: a wee plot summary for the “Sleepless in Seattle” virgins out there.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

"Douglas" is a decidedly more whimsical affair, as Gadsby shares the stage with a dog made of crayons and offers unique commentary on classical Christian art, with its lactating virgins and tiny lions.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2020

Like the carvings and stained-glass windows in European cathedrals, the art in San Lorenzo and other Olmec cities consisted mainly of powerful, recurring images—the crucifixions and virgins, so to speak, of ancient Mesoamerica.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann