filly

noun

fil·​ly ˈfi-lē How to pronounce filly (audio)
plural fillies
1
: a young female horse usually of less than four years
2
: a young woman : girl

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 Kentucky Oaks, the race involving only 3-year-old fillies, will occur Friday, May 3. Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 2 Feb. 2024 Warm Heart — a filly that ran second in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita in November — was installed as the 9-5 favorite for the Grade 1, $1 million Pegasus Turf, just ahead of 3-1 second choice Integration. Tim Reynolds, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2024 The 4-year-old filly is well traveled having finished second on Nov. 4 in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, followed by a third on Dec. 10 in the Hong Kong Vase. John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2024 The 4-year-old filly was sitting behind early pacesetter Main Event when Moore angled Warm Heart inside and guided her through a tight opening at the top of the stretch before holding off the late closers. Clark Spencer, Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2024 The Mosses purchased the big filly in 2005 at a September auction at Keeneland. Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2023 At another farm just a few minutes away, cloned foals and fillies stuck close to mothers that looked nothing like them. Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2023 The other Grade 1 is the American Oaks, 1 1/4 miles on the turf for 3-year-old fillies. John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 25 Dec. 2023 Led by winner Surge Capacity, the four horses Brown shipped in from the East ran 1-2-3-4 in the Grade I Matriarch Stakes — claiming $294,000 of the $300,000 purse in the one-mile turf race for older fillies and mares. Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'filly.' 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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of filly was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near filly

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

filly

noun
fil·​ly ˈfil-ē How to pronounce filly (audio)
plural fillies
: a young female horse usually less than four years old

More from Merriam-Webster on filly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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