plural girls
1
a(1)
: a female child from birth to adulthood
a seven-year-old girl
(2)
: a person whose gender identity is female
… narrator Taylor Meskimen draws listeners into the emotional life of Zenobia July, a tech-savvy trans girl who's facing a new year at a new middle school.—
Rebecca Honeycutt
Rebecca Honeycutt
b
: daughter
Papa's answer was quiet. "I thought I taught you to read, my girl."—Markus Zusak
Markus Zusak
c
: a young woman
d
sometimes offensive
: a single or married woman of any age
2
: a female romantic partner : girlfriend
3
US, informal
a
: a female friend
I love going to a spa and dinner with my girls.—Karen Clifton
Karen Clifton
b
—used as a friendly way of addressing a woman or girl
Hey girl, I like your taste in Christmas gifts.—Miranda Crace
Miranda CraceGirl, you need to give yourself some credit.—John Van Meter
John Van Meter4
: a woman or girl native to a given place
a local girl
She was a city girl at heart.
5
: a female domesticated animal and especially a pet
She … is still mastering the art of being a good girl, as any 3-month-old puppy is.—Rotorua (New Zealand) Weekender
Rotorua (New Zealand) WeekenderKeeping low-key when leaving and returning is essential. Just a "Bye!" and "Be a good girl!" when you leave is plenty. Your dog will be busy with her goodies dispenser, anyway, and probably won't notice when you leave.—Ed Bailey
Ed BaileyEve is a 10-year-old female kitty who is an independent pretty girl …—Jackson (Michigan) Citizen Patriot: Web Edition Articles
Jackson (Michigan) Citizen Patriot: Web Edition Articles6
dated, offensive
: a female servant or enslaved woman
also
: a female employee
Examples of girl in a Sentence
Is this your little girl?
a group of teenage girls
His parents hope he'll soon find a nice girl, settle down, and get married.
Wait till the girls back home hear about this!
Our boss thinks of herself as just one of the girls.
She went out dancing with the girls.
They just hired a new girl to do the filing.
Recent Examples on the Web
In either case, very good girl.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
Over the past two months, Texans have used green ribbons with bows to commemorate the lives lost in the July 4 Hill Country flooding, which killed more than 100 people, including more than two dozen girls and counselors from Camp Mystic in Hunt.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2025
District, circuit courts called Idaho law unconstitutional Hecox filed the lawsuit in April 2020, shortly after Idaho legislators passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which banned transgender women and girls from playing on women’s sports teams.
—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 8 Sep. 2025
Podium or not, Larsen is looking to the future with one audience on her mind — young girls with dreams of getting into motorsport.
—Spencer Whaley, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
The second is a girl named Judith.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
In the antebellum years and during Reconstruction, conjure women told mermaid stories that empowered women and girls, where the mermaids’ struggles for freedom mirrored their own experiences of domestic abuse or reproductive maltreatment during slavery.
—Time, 8 Sep. 2025
Federal prosecutors in New York said Maxwell helped Epstein recruit, groom and ultimately abuse girls as young as 14.
—John Parkinson, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2025
Fifteen years later, on May 9, 2000, a New Hampshire state trooper found a second barrel containing the remains of two young girls close to where the first barrel was found, according to NCMEC.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
Over the past two months, Texans have used green ribbons with bows to commemorate the lives lost in the July 4 Hill Country flooding, which killed more than 100 people, including more than two dozen girls and counselors from Camp Mystic in Hunt.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2025
District, circuit courts called Idaho law unconstitutional Hecox filed the lawsuit in April 2020, shortly after Idaho legislators passed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which banned transgender women and girls from playing on women’s sports teams.
—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 8 Sep. 2025
Podium or not, Larsen is looking to the future with one audience on her mind — young girls with dreams of getting into motorsport.
—Spencer Whaley, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
The second is a girl named Judith.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
In the antebellum years and during Reconstruction, conjure women told mermaid stories that empowered women and girls, where the mermaids’ struggles for freedom mirrored their own experiences of domestic abuse or reproductive maltreatment during slavery.
—Time, 8 Sep. 2025
Federal prosecutors in New York said Maxwell helped Epstein recruit, groom and ultimately abuse girls as young as 14.
—John Parkinson, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2025
Fifteen years later, on May 9, 2000, a New Hampshire state trooper found a second barrel containing the remains of two young girls close to where the first barrel was found, according to NCMEC.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Girl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/girl. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
girl
noun1
a
: a female child
b
: a young woman
2
offensive
: a female servant
—used especially in the past
3
Etymology
Middle English gurle, girle "a young person of either sex"
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