daughter
Americannoun
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daughters
plural
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a female child or person in relation to her parents.
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any female descendant.
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a person related as if by the ties binding daughter to parent.
daughter of the church.
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anything personified as female and considered with respect to its origin.
The United States is the daughter of the 13 colonies.
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Chemistry, Physics. an isotope formed by radioactive decay of another isotope.
adjective
noun
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a female offspring; a girl or woman in relation to her parents
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a female descendant
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a female from a certain country, etc, or one closely connected with a certain environment, etc
a daughter of the church
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archaic (often capital) a form of address for a girl or woman
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biology denoting a cell or unicellular organism produced by the division of one of its own kind
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physics (of a nuclide) formed from another nuclide by radioactive decay
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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daughterhoodnoun
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daughterlinessnoun
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daughter-likeadjective
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daughterlessadjective
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daughterlikeadjective
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daughterlyadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing daughter
List 6
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Spelling Practice, Unit 7
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 8
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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.
See Examples For:
She and her husband have a 7-year-old daughter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
"In many ways you were my Ray of Light - as was my daughter Lola who was born around this time," the singer wrote.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Her daughter was diagnosed with cancer and endured aggressive treatment before recovering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
"There was confusion," confirms Brenn Scott, who was going door-to-door with her daughter to inform residents of the Black neighborhood of Whitehaven.
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
She came to visit once or twice, always at an inconvenient time, and after her distracted daughter snapped at her during finals week junior year, she didn’t try to visit again.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Europe, unlike the U.S., was long a land of emigration not immigration, sending millions of its sons and daughters to the Americas and overseas empires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
"People were proud. More families started letting their daughters play football."
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Her biggest challenge will be finding time to watch her two daughters perform in two sports in her new job serving as region director for the Eagle Rock/Highland Park Network.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
He came from the Moroccan town of Kenitra with his wife and two daughters.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Of her daughters, the eldest, Amy, was rather little: naïve, and child-like in face and manner, and piquant in form; her white muslin dress and blue sash became her well.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
