girl

SayGURL/ˈɡɜɹl/UK/ˈɡɜːl/

17 meanings of girl

1
female childnouncountable or uncountable
A female child, typically one who has not yet reached adulthood.
A girl in the front row raised her hand to answer the question.
The school enrolled both boys and girls for the new program.
Oppositeboy
Note
The everyday core of the word, though it did not start out female.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The word originally referred to a child of either sex, rather than exclusively to a female child. en.wikipedia.org
2
adult womannounoffensivecountable or uncountable
A grown woman, especially a young or often attractive one: a usage many regard as offensive.
He referred to his fifty-year-old colleague as a girl, and she bristled.
The old manager dismissively said the girls in accounting would handle it.
UsageFor a colleague, employee or stranger, woman is the safer choice; among friends it can pass as warm.
Similarwoman, gal
Note
Applied to a grown woman, the word is sometimes taken as offensive because it borrows the vocabulary of childhood. In casual talk among peers, such as teasing a friend about his crush on a girl at work, it often passes as warm.
3
daughternouncountable or uncountable
A person's daughter, regardless of her age.
Their youngest girl is studying medicine abroad.
He talks about his two girls with obvious pride.
UsageMostly with a possessive: our girl, his two girls.
Similardaughter
Oppositeboy
4
sweetheartnouncountable or uncountable
A person's girlfriend; the woman one is romantically involved with.
He's been with his girl since high school.
I'm meeting my girl for dinner after work.
UsageUsually with a possessive: my girl, his girl.
Similargirlfriend, sweetheart, partner
Note
Edgar Rice Burroughs's The Girl from Hollywood (1922) has "steal my girl." The same frame also carries a daughter and a female friend, so context has to tell a boyfriend's "my girl" from a proud parent's or a best friend's.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote The Girl from Hollywood. gutenberg.org
The first book edition appeared in 1923; 1922 is the year of its magazine serialization. en.wikipedia.org
The novel contains the exact words “steal my girl.” gutenberg.org
5
female friendnouncountable or uncountable
A female friend, especially as used affectionately among women.
She called up one of her girls to vent about her day.
You're my girl. We've been close since grade school.
UsageUsually with a possessive, often in the plural: my girls, out with her girls.
Similargirlfriend, friend
6
nouncolloquialcountable or uncountable
Used to address a woman or girl directly in a familiar or friendly way; also used affectionately to a man, especially among gay men.
Girl, you would not believe what happened to me today.
Take it easy, girl, there's no rush at all.
UsageUsually at the start or end of a sentence, set off by a comma: Hey, girl! or Thanks, girl.
Similarlass, lassie, girlie
Note
Direct address flatters by pretending to youth. Kipling, in Under the Deodars (1889), remarks that ladies of a certain age call each other "dear girl," much as old officials address their equals. Today's "Hey, girl!" is breezier but does the same social work: it signals closeness rather than describing age.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Rudyard Kipling wrote Under the Deodars, first published in January 1889. en.wikipedia.org
The narrator remarks that older ladies call each other “dear girl,” comparing this with longstanding officials addressing their equals. gutenberg.org

Less common meanings

7
female animalnouncountable or uncountable
A female animal, especially a beloved female pet such as a dog, addressed affectionately.
"Come here, girl," the farmer called to his border collie.
The mare is a gentle girl who has never thrown a rider.
8
loved machinenouncolloquialcountable or uncountable
A machine or vehicle spoken of fondly, especially one in regular use by the speaker.
The pilot patted the cockpit and said the old plane was his best girl.
She patted the motorcycle's tank and said, "Come on, old girl, we've got a long ride ahead."
UsageUsually the old girl, with she and her following.
Note
Rose George's Deep Sea and Foreign Going (2013) applies it to a ship listing in heavy seas. The phrase mixes affection with a frank admission of age and wear.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Rose George's Deep Sea and Foreign Going was published in 2013. en.wiktionary.org
The book uses “girl” for a ship listing in heavy seas, describing it as tired and old. en.wiktionary.org
9
nounderogatorycolloquialcountable
An insulting name for a boy or man, used to mock him as weak, timid, or not manly enough.
His teammates called him a girl for sitting out the cliff jump.
Stop being a girl, Mike, and grab the other end of the couch.
UsageHeard as called him a girl or stop being a girl; many listeners hear it as sexist.
Similarwimp, sissy
Note
The insult works by treating being female as a weakness, so it belittles women as much as its target, and many listeners hear it as sexist.
10
maidnounoffensivedatedcountable or uncountable
A woman employed as a servant or maid.
Each morning the girl lit the fires and carried hot water up to the bedrooms.
The family's girl, a woman of forty, had cooked for them since before the war.
UsageFor an adult worker, say maid or housekeeper, or use her name.
Similarmaid, maidservant, charwoman, charlady
11
make feminineverbtransitive
To make something feminine, or to present it as intended for girls.
Toy makers girl entire aisles, drenching the shelves in pink and pastel.
The rebrand girled the magazine, filling it with fashion and gossip.
Similarfeminize
Oppositemasculinize
Note
Stephanie Harzewski's Chick Lit and Postfeminism (2011) pairs it with "yuppified," and scare quotes often flag it as a deliberate coinage.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Stephanie Harzewski wrote Chick Lit and Postfeminism, published in 2011. upress.virginia.edu
The book pairs “girled” with “yuppified.” en.wiktionary.org
12
female plantnounchildishcountable or uncountable
A female plant or tree, or in homely, childlike talk any living thing thought of as female.
Cannabis growers separate the girls early, since only female plants produce buds.
Holly berries grow only on the girl trees, so plant a boy tree close by.
UsageOften used before a noun (girl trees, girl plants); in careful writing, use female.
Similarfemale
Note
Popular plant writing of the 1950s used it to explain species like holly, whose male and female flowers grow on separate trees. African-violet growers' girl genes are another matter: they govern a leaf type, not sex.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Popular writing in the 1950s used 'girl' trees to explain separate male and female trees, including holly. en.wiktionary.org
Holly has male and female flowers on separate trees. gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu
African-violet growers' 'girl' genes concern foliage type rather than plant sex. africanvioletsocietyofamerica.org
13
fill with staffverbcolloquialtransitive
To staff a place or task with girls or young women.
She and her Altrurian diplomat husband, arriving there by sea, are greeted by flower-laden boats, each not manned, but girled by six rowers, who pulled as true a stroke as I ever saw.
1986, Marcus Cunliffe, The Literature of the United States
To her disappointment, the chatty Carlene DuBois wasn't behind the desk; instead it was manned—or girled—by a frothy little blonde who barely looked old enough to be out of high school.
2009, Linda Howard, Night Moves: Dream Man/After the Night
UsageA pun on manned; in neutral writing, staffed is the plain choice.
Similarstaff
Note
A pun on manned, and it rarely appears without that word nearby. A Linda Howard novel has a desk "manned—or girled" by a receptionist; elsewhere boats are "not manned, but girled" by rowers.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The staffing sense makes a pun on 'manned', as illustrated by the quoted contrast. gutenberg.org
A Linda Howard novel describes a desk staffed by a young woman using 'manned—or girled'. en.wiktionary.org
A literary passage describes boats as 'not manned, but girled' by rowers. gutenberg.org
14
cocainenounslangUSuncountable
Cocaine, particularly in its powdered form.
Undercover officers arranged to buy girl from the suspect.
He'd been moving girl through the neighborhood for months.
UsageUsed without a: buy girl, lines of girl.
Similarcoke, blow, snow, charlie, powder
Note
Iceberg Slim uses it this way in Pimp (1967), and it still appears in K'wan's Hoodlum (2005).
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Iceberg Slim uses “girl” to mean cocaine in Pimp. en.wiktionary.org
Pimp by Iceberg Slim was first published in 1967. en.wikipedia.org
K'wan's Hoodlum uses “girl” to mean cocaine. en.wiktionary.org
Hoodlum by K'wan was first published in 2005. en.wikipedia.org
15
queen (cards)nounslangcountable or uncountable
The queen card in a standard deck of playing cards.
He flipped over a girl to complete his run.
Holding three girls, she felt confident about the round.
UsageQueen remains the word for rules, scoring and games with strangers.
Similarqueen
Note
A rare nickname at the card table. The queen ranks between the jack and the king, and as the face card showing a woman, she makes the nickname easy to grasp.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Girl is an uncommon slang name for a queen playing card. en.wiktionary.org
The queen normally ranks between the jack and the king. en.wikipedia.org
The queen card depicts a woman. en.wikipedia.org
16
nounobsoletecountable or uncountable
A child of either sex, regardless of being male or female.
Note
The older, wider meaning, as Middle English gerle had it, before the word narrowed to a female child. It is now obsolete and matters mainly to readers of early texts, where a "girl" may turn out to be a boy.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Middle English gerle could mean a child of either sex. en.wiktionary.org
The word's meaning narrowed from a child of either sex to a female child. en.wikipedia.org
The meaning 'a child of either sex' is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
17
nounobsoleteUKcountable or uncountable
A two-year-old roebuck, or male roe deer.
Note
A hunting term that runs against everything else the word means: the animal is male, a roebuck in its second year. It belonged to British dialect and is now obsolete.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Girl was a hunting term for a roebuck in its second year. gutenberg.org
A roebuck is male. en.wiktionary.org
This sense belonged to British dialect and is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English gerle, girle or gyrle meaning a young person, whether boy or girl, perhaps from Old English *gyrele and Proto-West Germanic *gurilā, from a diminutive of a root meaning 'young child'. Its ultimate origin is unknown.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Girl derives from Middle English gerle, girle or gyrle, meaning a young person of either sex. en.wiktionary.org
Old English *gyrele is a proposed, rather than attested or certain, ancestor. en.wiktionary.org
The proposed derivation includes Proto-West Germanic *gurilā, formed as a diminutive of a base meaning 'young child'. en.wiktionary.org
The word's ultimate origin is unknown. en.wiktionary.org