material girl

American  

[muh-teer-ee-uhl gurl] / məˈtɪər i əl ˌgɜrl /

noun

1. a person, especially a woman, who pursues a lifestyle of buying luxury items or of seeking them as gifts from lovers and admirers.

   In The Great Gatsby, Daisy was a material girl, living in a world of possession and social status through Tom.

   Their new designer lip balms boast fun and funky packaging that screams on-trend—perfect for the material girl on the go.

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Etymology

Origin of material girl

Coined in 1984 by U.S. songwriters Peter Brown and Robert Rans

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

material girl

The goal: retool the Barbie brand, from one centered around a looks-obsessed material girl to something with heft — less “Real Housewives” and more real world, as The Washington Post put it in 2016.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2023

At 16, she was cast as the prototypical ’80s material girl Mallory Keaton on the sitcom “Family Ties.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2021

The material girl went on to accuse people of being "quick to judge".

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2018

If, in your celebration of the single life, you are still chastising your ex for not having sealed a commitment with a rock, are you more of a material girl than empowered woman warrior?

From The Guardian ● Jun. 27, 2016

Before Carrie came along, the notion of combining the hippie and the material girl was unthinkable.

From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2012