belle

noun

: a popular and attractive girl or woman
especially : a girl or woman whose charm and beauty make her a favorite
the belle of the ball

Examples of belle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Keep scrolling for everything a Southern belle could possibly need or want from the new Draper James x Dolly Parton collaboration—all for an additional 20 percent off with the code DOLLY20 from now until January 21. Stephanie Osmanski, Southern Living, 19 Jan. 2024 ADCs were, in short, the belle of the cancer research ball. Andrew Joseph, STAT, 24 Oct. 2023 The Southern belle has made a splash in the pageant world. Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 8 Sep. 2023 But Parker always meant to play the quietly cunning Southern belle as anything but simpering, describing the elder DuBois sister as a mental poker player. Helena Andrews-Dyer, Washington Post, 23 June 2023 The belles in their hoopskirts took the arms of boys from Baylor Military Academy, who wore Confederate uniforms. Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Aug. 2022 After supporting her mother-in-law Victoria Beckham for the designer's emotional return to the runway, the Transformers star headed to the Valentino Spring 2023 show alongside her husband Brooklyn, who's been appearing at fashion week with his belle. Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 7 Oct. 2022 The movie also focuses on the romantic entanglements of Scarlett O’Hara (played by Vivien Leigh), an impetuous and iron-willed Southern belle who finds her feelings torn between the mild-mannered Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) and the dashing Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). Mary Colurso | McOlurso@al.com, al, 10 June 2020 Our saga begins at a funeral, where the glamorous Southern belle Georgia is mourning the death of her husband, Kenny (Darryl Scheelar) — and Kenny's ex-wife is lamenting that this pretty young thing is about to inherit her yoga entrepreneur ex's fortune. Jean Bentley, refinery29.com, 3 Mar. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'belle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French, from feminine of beau beautiful — more at beau

First Known Use

1622, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of belle was in 1622

Dictionary Entries Near belle

Cite this Entry

“Belle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belle. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

belle

noun
: a popular attractive girl or woman
Etymology

French belle "a beautiful girl," from belle (adjective), feminine form of beau "beautiful," from Latin bellus "pretty" — related to beau, beauty

More from Merriam-Webster on belle

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