English Dictionary

GIRL

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does girl mean? 

GIRL (noun)
  The noun GIRL has 5 senses:

1. a young femaleplay

2. a youthful female personplay

3. a female human offspringplay

4. a girl or young woman with whom a man is romantically involvedplay

5. a friendly informal reference to a grown womanplay

  Familiarity information: GIRL used as a noun is common.


 Dictionary entry details 


GIRL (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

A young female

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

fille; girl; miss; missy; young lady; young woman

Context example:

a young lady of 18

Hypernyms ("girl" is a kind of...):

adult female; woman (an adult female person (as opposed to a man))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "girl"):

mill-girl (a girl who works in a mill)

working girl (a young woman who is employed)

party girl (an attractive young woman hired to attend parties and entertain men)

peri (a beautiful and graceful girl)

ring girl (a young woman who holds up cards indicating the number of the next round at prize fights)

rosebud ((a literary reference to) a pretty young girl)

sex bomb; sex kitten; sexpot (a young woman who is thought to have sex appeal)

shop girl (a young female shop assistant)

soubrette (a pert or flirtatious young girl)

sweater girl (a girl with an attractive bust who wears tight sweaters)

hoyden; romp; tomboy (a girl who behaves in a boyish manner)

valley girl (a girl who grew up in the tract housing in the San Fernando Valley)

May queen; queen of the May (the girl chosen queen of a May Day festival)

maid; maiden (an unmarried girl (especially a virgin))

jeune fille; lass; lassie; young girl (a girl or young woman who is unmarried)

Gibson girl (the idealized American girl of the 1890s as pictured by C. D. Gibson)

gamine (a girl of impish appeal)

gal (alliterative term for girl (or woman))

flapper (a young woman in the 1920s who flaunted her unconventional conduct and dress)

bird; chick; dame; doll; skirt; wench (informal terms for a (young) woman)

colleen (an Irish girl)

chit (a dismissive term for a girl who is immature or who lacks respect)

chachka; tchotchke; tchotchkeleh; tsatske; tshatshke ((Yiddish) an attractive, unconventional woman)

bimbo (a young woman indulged by rich and powerful older men)

belle (a young woman who is the most charming and beautiful of several rivals)

Derivation:

girlhood (the childhood of a girl)


Sense 2

Meaning:

A youthful female person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

female child; girl; little girl

Context example:

the girls were just learning to ride a tricycle

Hypernyms ("girl" is a kind of...):

female; female person (a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "girl"):

Campfire Girl (a girl who is a member of Campfire Girls; for girls age 7-18)

farm girl (a girl who has grown up on a farm)

flower girl (a young girl who carries flowers in a (wedding) procession)

moppet (a little girl (usually one you are fond of))

schoolgirl (a girl attending school)

Scout (a Boy Scout or Girl Scout)

Antonym:

boy (a youthful male person)

Derivation:

girlhood (the childhood of a girl)


Sense 3

Meaning:

A female human offspring

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

daughter; girl

Context example:

her daughter cared for her in her old age

Hypernyms ("girl" is a kind of...):

female offspring (a child who is female)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "girl"):

mother's daughter (a daughter who is favored by and similar to her mother)

Antonym:

boy (a male human offspring)


Sense 4

Meaning:

A girl or young woman with whom a man is romantically involved

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

girl; girlfriend; lady friend

Context example:

his girlfriend kicked him out

Hypernyms ("girl" is a kind of...):

lover (a person who loves someone or is loved by someone)

adult female; woman (an adult female person (as opposed to a man))


Sense 5

Meaning:

A friendly informal reference to a grown woman

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

Mrs. Smith was just one of the girls

Hypernyms ("girl" is a kind of...):

adult female; woman (an adult female person (as opposed to a man))


 Context examples 


My brother told me about it when I was a little girl.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He studied it for several minutes. "The little girl is sick," he said finally.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But why do it at all? The girl is dead. Why mutilate her poor body without need?

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

What a fine thing for our girls!

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Halfway down, Lestrade stopped and tapped at a door, which was opened by a small servant girl.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was a letter of mine, Mr. Holmes, an indiscreet letter written before my marriage—a foolish letter, a letter of an impulsive, loving girl.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It's bad enough to be a girl, anyway, when I like boy's games and work and manners!

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He would be a harder, sterner man, not so ready to adapt himself to a silly girl's whim.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Well, all the girls here have lost either one or both parents, and this is called an institution for educating orphans.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"Ne'er cast a clout till May be out." (English proverb)

"Tree would bend when it bears fruit." (Azerbaijani proverb)

"He who speaks about the future lies, even when he tells the truth." (Arabic proverb)

"One bird in your hand is better than ten on the roof." (Danish proverb)



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