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

When a one-month-old wild horse named Esther was found wandering alone on North Carolina’s barrier islands last week, the whole community jumped in to reunite the young filly with her family. —Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 8 July 2024

The three fillies who have won 1988 — Winning Colors. —Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 1 May 2024

Those are parts of the colorful stories of Preakness winners with milestone anniversaries this year. 100 years ago: On a muddy track compared to waffle batter, Nellie Morse becomes fourth filly to win Preakness — only two have since. —Paul McCardell, Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2024

Trained by LeRoy Jolley, Genuine Risk became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby in 65 years and just the second in history. —Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 1 May 2024

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

Kids Definition

filly

noun

fil·​ly ˈfil-ē 

plural fillies

: a young female horse usually less than four years old