daughter

American  

[daw-ter] / ˈdɔ tər /

noun

• daughters
  plural

1. a female child or person in relation to her parents.

2. any female descendant.

3. a person related as if by the ties binding daughter to parent.

   daughter of the church.

4. anything personified as female and considered with respect to its origin.

   The United States is the daughter of the 13 colonies.

5. Chemistry, Physics. an isotope formed by radioactive decay of another isotope.

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adjective

1. Biology. pertaining to a cell or other structure arising from division or replication.

   daughter cell; daughter DNA.

daughter British  

/ ˈdɔːtə /

noun

1. a female offspring; a girl or woman in relation to her parents

2. a female descendant

3. a female from a certain country, etc, or one closely connected with a certain environment, etc

   a daughter of the church

4. archaic (often capital) a form of address for a girl or woman

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1. biology denoting a cell or unicellular organism produced by the division of one of its own kind

2. physics (of a nuclide) formed from another nuclide by radioactive decay

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• daughterhood
  noun
• daughterliness
  noun
• daughter-like
  adjective
• daughterless
  adjective
• daughterlike
  adjective
• daughterly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• daughters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of daughter

before 950; Middle English doughter, Old English dohtor; cognate with German Tochter, Greek thygátēr, Sanskrit duhitā

Explanation

A daughter is a female offspring, and while it is usually referring to the female child's relationship to her parents, it might be used to suggest any similar relationship, such as the organization “Daughters of the American Revolution.” The English word daughter appeared before the Tenth Century as the Old English dohtor and later the Middle English doughter. Any connected group of women might be referred to as "daughters," For example, the "daughters of Zion" of the Bible and the "Daughters of Elysium" in Beethoven’s "Ode to Joy" closing to his Ninth Symphony. If people say you are your mother's daughter, aside from pointing out the obvious they are saying the two of you have a lot in common.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

daughter daughters

He is reportedly survived by a daughter, Amelia Rose Kelly.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Schuster had worked with Hijazi to process that trauma.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Later, the couple repaid the film producer by making him godfather to their daughter, Lilibet.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

Jordan is survived by her husband Derek Sharp, daughter Stella Jordan-Sharp, stepdaughter Brianne Sharp and brother Daniel Jordan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

It was bad enough to be stuck there on that sharecropper’s farm; but to have a little daughter and a twisted leg, and not be able to do anything for her, hurt worst of all.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Parents Natalie and Lucy, who both have daughters starting reception next year, have welcomed the extra support on offer.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

"We're mothers, we're sisters, we're daughters, we're somebody's family member, and a lot of times there's a humanity that's removed from our position."

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

We found out that the daughters of the geologist Leonard Horner invited Darwin to come over for a visit—in Maōri, which they thought would impress the world traveler.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

She said she’s homeschooling her three daughters because the local public school options just “weren’t up to par.”

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

Later, I learned that our pastor had told him, “I have a young widow with three daughters that I’d like you to meet.”

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Related Words

• child
• descendant
• female offspring
• girl
• kid
• offspring