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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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

• girls
  plural

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

See Examples For:

girl girls

The project has resulted in five clips featuring accounts from those touched by the attacks, including an 11-year-old girl whose grandfather responded to the attack on the Pentagon.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

At the next picnic table over, a little girl tipped an oyster back then dropped it on the ground—one more shell for the modern midden.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

A girl who is encouraged to ask questions about the world may eventually ask questions about the rules governing her own life: Who made them?

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

The King says he and Queen Camilla are "heartbroken" by the deadly flash floods near the Nepal-Tibet border, as 33 people from the UK are missing including a 13-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

She played rowdy games as a little girl.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

For Elizabeth Cardner, a mother of two girls in Houston, Texas, Meta's new limits on how teenagers can use its platforms are a welcome sign that more people are aware of social media's potential dangers.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

The CHP previously said it was investigating whether the cars that hit the girls were racing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

That was not an entirely neutral proposition at a moment when American women still lacked a constitutional right to vote and girls were being prepared for far narrower versions of adulthood.

From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026

Two reports on the practice were released on Friday, a year after Denmark apologised for the treatment of Inuit women and girls in its autonomous territory.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

I was hoping Mrs. Brower would finally call us to do something, but she was still across the yard, talking to some of the girls and moving her arms.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

Related Words

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