filly
Americannoun
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a young female horse.
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Informal. a girl or young woman.
noun
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a female horse or pony under the age of four
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informal a spirited girl or young woman
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of filly
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English fyly, from Old Norse fyla “female, foal”; see foal
Explanation
A filly is a young female horse. The male equivalent of a filly is a "colt." In most places, a filly is not yet four years old, although sometimes a female horse younger than five is considered a filly. Before she is a year old, a filly is also called a "foal," or a baby horse — and between the ages of one and two, she's also a "yearling." Around 1400, the word was spelled fyly, possibly from the Old Norse fylja, the feminine of foli, or "foal."
Vocabulary lists containing filly
Horsin' Around
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The Book of Unknown Americans
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Black Beauty
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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:
California’s top 3-year-old filly, McCarthy’s Meaning, will race Friday in the Grade 1 Acorn, getting a rematch against Always a Runner, who beat her in the Kentucky Oaks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
The filly equivalent of the Derby, the Kentucky Oaks, will be run under the lights at 5:40 p.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Smith said the filly “broke really well but she must have hit herself leaving the gate. She was real choppy and didn’t feel comfortable.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2026
Eclipse also has Fondly running in the Kentucky Oaks, the filly version of the Derby, for Motion.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025
He had the bad luck of drawing into an event that featured the best filly in the country, Myrdewood.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
But he still didn’t have a bad day as his pair of 3-year-old fillies, Meaning and Brooklyn Blonde, finished 1-2 in the Grade 2 $200,000 Santa Anita Oaks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2026
Saturday’s win helped both claim rare weekend sweeps of the Derby and Kentucky Oaks for fillies.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2024
The party usually gets started well before the main event: On Friday, a crowd watched a race for fillies, the Kentucky Oaks.
From New York Times ● May 4, 2024
Billed as Championship Sunday, it co-features the $50,000 Emerald Distaff for older fillies and mares, $50,000 Muckleshoot Derby for 3-year-olds, and $50,000 Washington Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2024
The flat, thin ankle—let Arabian fillies hide their heads!
From The Cassowary What Chanced in the Cleft Mountains by Waterloo, Stanley
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.
