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Synonyms

girlfriend

American  
[gurl-frend] / ˈgɜrlˌfrɛnd /
Or girl friend

noun

  1. a frequent or favorite female companion; sweetheart.

  2. a female friend.

girlfriend British  
/ ˈɡɜːlˌfrɛnd /

noun

  1. a female friend with whom a man or boy is romantically or sexually involved; sweetheart

  2. any female friend

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of girlfriend

First recorded in 1855–60; girl + friend

Compare meaning

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Vocabulary lists containing girlfriend

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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.

“He spent $1,000 on his girlfriend at Christmas and several hundred dollars on each of her children.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Not only do his friends have no idea he exists, but his girlfriend MJ -- played by Zendaya -- has a new love interest.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

He told me he spent $1,000 on his girlfriend at Christmas and several hundred dollars on each of her children.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

If an old girlfriend buys you a set of cocktail glasses from a flea market, those glasses will always evoke thoughts of that person.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

“I suppose that is your girlfriend? Your Penelope? Your Elizabeth? Your Annabeth?”

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

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.