filly

noun

fil·​ly ˈfi-lē 

plural fillies

1

: a young female horse usually of less than four years

2

: a young woman : girl

Synonyms

• girl
• lass
• lassie
• miss
• missy
• nymph
• sheila [Australian & New Zealand]

Examples of filly in a Sentence

she's still a filly, so she has plenty of time to decide what she wants to do in life

Recent Examples on the Web

The horse race is for 3-year-old fillies on Friday, a prelude to the Preakness. —Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2025

The favorite in this year’s field is Good Cheer, an undefeated filly going for her seventh win in Friday’s Grade 1 gallop. —Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 2 May 2025

There are two mint julep cups for whiskey fans to purchase, with all proceeds going to benefit Our Mims Retirement Haven, a farm outside of Paris, Kentucky, where fillies and broodmares can spend their golden years (it’s named after 1977 Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, Our Mims). —Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2025

This year’s cups are meant to honor a trio of winning fillies: Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980), and Winning Colors (1988). —Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fyly, from Old Norse fylja; akin to Old English fola foal

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for filly

• billie
• billy
• chilli
• chilly
• dilly
• frilly
• gillie
• gilly
• hilly
• lily
• philly
• really

Kids Definition

filly

noun

fil·​ly ˈfil-ē 

plural fillies

: a young female horse usually less than four years old