girl
Americannoun
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a female child, from birth to full growth.
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a young, immature woman, especially formerly, an unmarried one.
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a daughter.
My wife and I have two girls.
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Informal: Sometimes Offensive. a grown woman, especially when referred to familiarly.
She's having the girls over for bridge next week.
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a girlfriend; sweetheart.
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Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female servant, as a maid.
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Older Use: Usually Offensive. a female employee, especially an office assistant.
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a female who is from or native to a given place.
She's a Missouri girl.
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(used with a singular or plural verb) girls,
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a range of sizes from 7 to 14, for garments made for girls.
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a garment in this size range.
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the department or section of a store where these garments are sold.
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Slang. girls, one's breasts (usually preceded by the, my, etc., and primarily used self-referentially by women).
noun
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a female child from birth to young womanhood
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a young unmarried woman; lass; maid
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informal a sweetheart or girlfriend
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informal a woman of any age
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an informal word for daughter
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a female employee, esp a female servant
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derogatory a Black female servant of any age
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informal (usually plural) a group of women, esp acquaintances
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
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
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:
But the day she arrives, a girl goes missing and Hanna cannot resist becoming part of the team searching for her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
No girl should be forced to change in front of a boy or share such intimate spaces with the opposite sex.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
“As a tall girl, I thought I was safe from the Zara death pants,” wrote one wearer after “faceplanting in the middle of the street.”
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
"I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she's never going to see her father again."
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
“Neither of you would be here if you didn’t belong, but you can make that choice. It’s just not what our girl here wants.”
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Only when it reappeared later to give the girls a ride to the hospital did I drop my guard.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Because who would watch a movie about two little girls who befriend a gentle forest creature and . . . that’s it?
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Even their children — he had three boys, while my father had two boys and two girls — are similar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
"They're funny, smart, energetic little girls that just fit right in with their age group," Brioney said.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
‘The girls have asked me to go out with them tomorrow. Etty and the others.’
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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.
