lesbian

SayLEZ-bee-uhn/ˈlɛz.bi.ən/UK/ˈlɛz.bɪ.ən/

5 meanings of lesbian

1
a gay womannouncountable
A woman who loves or is attracted to other women.
She came out as a lesbian when she was twenty.
Two lesbians moved into the house next door last month.
Similardyke, lesbo, lezzie, lezzer, sapphist
Oppositeheterosexual, straight
Note
2
gay (female)adjective
Describes a woman who loves or is attracted to other women.
She is lesbian and lives happily with her partner.
Her lesbian friend helped her feel accepted at school.
Similargay
Oppositestraight, heterosexual
Note
3
adjective
About lesbians, or about love or sex between women.
The show featured a lesbian kiss in its final episode.
Their lesbian relationship grew stronger over the years.
Similargay
Oppositeheterosexual
Note

Less common meanings

4
female animalnounrarecountable
A female animal that mates or pairs with other females.
Visitors laughed when the guide called the two female swans that nested together lesbians.
There was one recently that determined on an island off California 14 percent of the female sea gulls were lesbians (and we know that kind of thing would never go among Nantucket sea gulls).
1979, Terry Hekker, Ever Since Adam and EveHere, lesbians means female animals that pair up with other females.
Note
5
be intimateverbnonstandardtransitive or intransitive
To take part in sexual or romantic activity between women, or to get someone to take part in it.
She joked that they would just stay home and lesbian all weekend.
She laughed and said she and her girlfriend had been lesbianing all weekend.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of lesbian apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From the Greek island Lesbos, home of the poet Sappho, who wrote love poems about women.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The word derives from the name of the Greek island Lesbos, where Sappho lived. en.wikipedia.org
Sappho wrote love poems about women. en.wikipedia.org