belle
1 Americannoun
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a woman or girl admired for her beauty and charm.
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the most beautiful, charming, or engaging woman or girl among a number.
the belle of the ball.
noun
noun
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a beautiful girl or woman
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the most attractive or admired girl or woman at a place, function, etc (esp in the phrase the belle of the ball )
Etymology
Origin of belle
1615–25; < French; Old French bele < Latin bella, feminine of bellus fine, good-looking. See beau
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.
In his quest to transform Kimberly-Clark to an engine of growth and a true challenger in the beauty and wellness space, he said he always considered Kenvue to be “the belle of the ball.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
Many of them were built in the early 20th century - grand belle epoque palaces serving a then emerging class of privileged, primarily English tourists.
From BBC • Mar. 2, 2025
An hour later in a slightly sweaty hotel ballroom bedecked with “Unionize California” signs, Friedman was being treated like the belle of the ball at the California Labor Federation’s annual awards dinner.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2024
Nor is she the family-friendly belle seen in the 2022 family-friendly musical “The Lincolns of Springfield.”
From New York Times • Feb. 7, 2024
In a belle époque metal frame tinged with verdigris was a photograph of his parents, Grace and Ernest, three days after their wedding.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
