daughter

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noun daugh·ter \ ˈdȯ-tər , ˈdä- \

Definition of daughter

1 anthropology

a :a female offspring especially of human parents

b :a female adopted child

c :a human female descendant

2 :something considered as a daughter

the United States is a daughter of Great Britain

3 chemistry :an atomic species (see ¹species 1e) that is the product of the radioactive decay (see ²decay 6a) of a given element

radon, the daughter of radium

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daughterless

play \-ləs\ adjective

See daughter defined for English-language learners

See daughter defined for kids

Examples of daughter in a Sentence

We have a daughter and two sons.

Recent Examples of daughter from the Web

For someone with kids—especially daughters—both time spent in a nursing home and out-of-pocket costs are significantly lower than for those without children.

— Bloomberg.com, "Your Evening Briefing," 29 Aug. 2017
Reese Witherspoon stars in a romantic comedy directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer, the daughter of filmmaker Nancy Meyers.

— mike scott, NOLA.com, "Fall Movie Preview 2017: 12 comedies on tap this season," 28 Aug. 2017
Older adults like Kensaku Fueki, whose three daughters live in Tokyo, still climb on their roofs every winter to shovel snow to ensure their houses won’t collapse.

— alana semuels, The Atlantic, "Can Anything Stop Rural Decline?," 23 Aug. 2017
Remember, the Red Wedding happened because Robb Stark didn't marry one of Walder Frey's daughters.

— matt miller, Esquire, "Jon Snow and Cersei Lannister Have an Interesting Connection on Game of Thrones," 23 Aug. 2017
WATCH: Noah Galloway: From Injured Soldier To Inspirational Veteran Advocate The sleeves were designed by Megan Moser, daughter of Capt.

— Southern Living, "Starbucks Launches a New Campaign to Honor and Help Veterans," 23 Aug. 2017
Neither Tate nor her daughter, Jessica, saw or heard any commotion that would have indicated trouble or distress Tuesday morning.

— michelle l. quinn, Post-Tribune, "Authorities: Woman found stabbed to death in Hammond," 22 Aug. 2017
At that moment his wife, daughter, and son-in-law were in an interview room at a Rancho Santa Margarita police station.

— jeff maysh, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Cop Who Became a Robber," 22 Aug. 2017
The answer came when the woman’s daughter, who was taking care of her at home, showed up in the emergency room with a life-threatening overdose of morphine and oxycodone.

— melissa bailey, Kaiser Health News, "Dying At Home In An Opioid Crisis: Hospices Grapple With Stolen Meds," 22 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'daughter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of daughter

Middle English, doughter, from Old English dohtor; akin to Old High German tohter daughter, Greek thygatēr

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

daughter

adjective

Definition of daughter

1 :having the characteristics or relationship of a daughter (see ¹daughter 1)

2 biology :belonging to the first generation of offspring, organelles, or molecules produced by reproduction, division, or replication

a daughter cell

daughter DNA molecules

Origin and Etymology of daughter

see ¹daughter

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1610

See Words from the same year

Other Genetics Terms

chimera, hermaphrodite, plasticity

DAUGHTER Defined for English Language Learners

daughter

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noun

Definition of daughter for English Language Learners

: a female child

DAUGHTER Defined for Kids

daughter

play

noun daugh·ter \ ˈdȯ-tər \

Definition of daughter for Students

1 :a female child or offspring

2 :a woman or girl associated with or thought of as a child of something (as a country, race, or religion)

The book tells the stories of two daughters of Africa.

Medical Dictionary

daughter

play

noun daugh·ter \ ˈdȯt-ər \

medical Definition of daughter

1 a :a human female having the relation of child to a parent

b :a female offspring of an animal

2 :an atomic species that is the product of the radioactive decay of a given element

radon is the daughter of radium

daughter

adjective

medical Definition of daughter

1 :having the characteristics or relationship of a daughter

2 :belonging to the first generation of offspring, organelles, or molecules produced by reproduction, division, or replication

a daughter cell

daughter chromosomes

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See words that rhyme with daughter Spanish Central: Translation of daughter Nglish: Translation of daughter for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of daughter for Arabic speakers

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daughter

Definition of daughter

daughterless

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Examples of daughter in a Sentence

Recent Examples of daughter from the Web

Origin and Etymology of daughter

daughter

Definition of daughter

Origin and Etymology of daughter

Other Genetics Terms

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DAUGHTER Defined for English Language Learners

daughter

Definition of daughter for English Language Learners

DAUGHTER Defined for Kids

daughter

Definition of daughter for Students

Medical Dictionary

daughter

medical Definition of daughter

daughter

medical Definition of daughter

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