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• moll
  moll

  noun

  gun moll.
• Moll
  Moll

  noun

  a female given name.

moll

¹ American  

[mol] / mɒl /

noun

Slang.

1. gun moll.

2. Archaic. a prostitute.

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moll ² American  

[mawl] / mɔl /

adjective

German.

1. (in music) written in a minor key; minor.

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Moll ³ American  

[mol] / mɒl /

noun

1. a female given name.

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moll British  

/ mɒl /

noun

1. the female accomplice of a gangster

2. a prostitute

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Etymology

Origin of moll

Special use of Moll

Explanation

A woman who's the companion or conspirator to a gangster can be called a moll. One of the most famous molls was Bonnie Parker, of the criminal duo Bonnie and Clyde. The informal moll has most often been used for the romantic partners of 1920s and 30s mobsters, like Al Capone's wife Mae or George "Baby Face" Nelson's girlfriend Helen. These supportive women were also called "gun molls," not named after the weapon, but for gonif, the Yiddish word for "thief." Moll is a shortened form of the name Molly, long a synonym for "woman of ill repute," for unknown reasons.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

moll Moll

Harley Quinn, before her great emancipation, was the ultimate gangster moll existing at and for the pleasure of The Joker.

From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2024

Then, like a gun moll, the Queen Mother orders a martini.

From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 2023

Everyone in the novel seems intent on wearing middle sister down, jamming her into a mold that makes more sense to the community—I.R.A. moll, adulterous hussy—than does a girl who reads while she walks.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 3, 2018

What follows are a series of fairly contrived dilemmas, as Ali abruptly makes an effort to be a mom, not a moll.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2018

I'm like that famous gangster's moll, you know, who bruised easy but healed quick.

From Masters of Space by Berry, Robert Lee

Lore Van Moll, 33, a Belgian woman visiting her parents in nearby Alfaix, said she felt fortunate that she was unharmed and that her family’s home had been spared.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

I’ve been to that exhibit and had planned to take my kids this summer to learn about Joe Richardson, Christopher Sheels, Austin, Hercules, Giles, Moll, Oney Judge, Paris and Richmond.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026

Andrew Moll, the chief inspector of Marine Accidents, said it was a "cruel lesson of how rapidly things can go dreadfully wrong".

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2024

After Yale, Vance worked just two years in law before heading to Silicon Valley, where he was hired by Frederic Moll, a friend of Thiel’s, to work at Circuit Therapeutics, The Times reported.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2024

“Really, Moll? ” he says with a sigh, turning the ignition key.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline