girl
Pronounced:
/ˈgɚl/
Function:
nounInflected forms:
plural girlsMeaning:
1 [count] a : a female child ▪ It's a girl! = She gave birth to a baby girl. ▪ a nine-year-old girl ▪ Ever since I was a (little/young) girl, I've wanted to travel. b : daughter ▪ Is this your little girl? ▪ She's our oldest/youngest girl.
2 [count] a : a young woman ▪ a group of teenage girls ▪ a 19-year-old girl ▪ His parents hope he'll soon find a nice girl, settle down, and get married. ▪ When she was younger, she was a real party girl. [=a young woman who enjoys parties] ▪ She's a big star now, but her fans still think of her as the girl next door. [=a wholesome young woman from a middle-class family] b : a usually young woman from a specified kind of place ▪ a city/country girl = a girl from the city/country ▪ a local/hometown girl
3 informal a the girls : the female friends or work partners of a woman viewed as a group ▪ Wait till the girls back home hear about this! ▪ Our boss thinks of herself as just one of the girls. ▪ She went out dancing with the girls. b [count] : a woman of any age —often used as a friendly way for one woman to address another woman ▪ Girl, you will not believe what just happened to me! c [count] : a woman or girl who does a particular job or activity ▪ a shop girl ▪ They just hired a new girl to do the filing. ◊The use of girl to refer to an adult woman is often considered offensive, especially when it is used this way by a man. —see also ball girl, call girl, chorus girl, cover girl, office girl, papergirl, poster girl, schoolgirl
4 [count] informal + old-fashioned : girlfriend ▪ I took my girl out to the movies last night.
2 [count] a : a young woman ▪ a group of teenage girls ▪ a 19-year-old girl ▪ His parents hope he'll soon find a nice girl, settle down, and get married. ▪ When she was younger, she was a real party girl. [=a young woman who enjoys parties] ▪ She's a big star now, but her fans still think of her as the girl next door. [=a wholesome young woman from a middle-class family] b : a usually young woman from a specified kind of place ▪ a city/country girl = a girl from the city/country ▪ a local/hometown girl
3 informal a the girls : the female friends or work partners of a woman viewed as a group ▪ Wait till the girls back home hear about this! ▪ Our boss thinks of herself as just one of the girls. ▪ She went out dancing with the girls. b [count] : a woman of any age —often used as a friendly way for one woman to address another woman ▪ Girl, you will not believe what just happened to me! c [count] : a woman or girl who does a particular job or activity ▪ a shop girl ▪ They just hired a new girl to do the filing. ◊The use of girl to refer to an adult woman is often considered offensive, especially when it is used this way by a man. —see also ball girl, call girl, chorus girl, cover girl, office girl, papergirl, poster girl, schoolgirl
4 [count] informal + old-fashioned : girlfriend ▪ I took my girl out to the movies last night.
—girl·hood /ˈgɚlˌhʊd/ noun [noncount] ▪ She lost touch with the friends of her girlhood. ▪ her girlhood friends
/ˈgɚlˌhʊd/ noun [noncount] ▪ She lost touch with the friends of her girlhood. ▪ her girlhood friends—girl·ish /ˈgɚlɪʃ/ adjective [more girl*ish; most girl*ish] ▪ a girlish voice ▪ her girlish figure
/ˈgɚlɪʃ/ adjective [more girl*ish; most girl*ish] ▪ a girlish voice ▪ her girlish figure—girl·ish·ly adverb ▪ She smiled girlishly at him.
—girl·ish·ness noun [noncount] ▪ the girlishness of her voice/figure