1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

girl

noun

ˈgər(-ə)l How to pronounce girl (audio)
Definition of girlnext
1
as in maid
a young unmarried woman he's engaged to a girl that his parents really like

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in filly
a female person who has not yet reached adulthood when I was a girl, I wanted a horse so badly

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in girlfriend
a female romantic companion found an old letter by my grandfather asking my grandmother to be his girl

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of girl So here was Hynde, an American girl with a smoldering stare, and her three British male back-up musicians. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026 Meanwhile, Pharrell Williams, the Olsen girls, Sarah Jessica Parker all crossed over. — Merle Ginsberg, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026 The 14-year-old Glenn County girl was reported missing Friday from Orland, about 100 miles north of Sacramento, Orland police said. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 14 Sep. 2026 Bandura, 25, was a Little League teammate of Mo’ne Davis, who became the first girl to throw a shutout in Little League World Series history. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for girl
Recent Examples of Synonyms for girl
  1. maid
  2. filly
  3. girlfriend
  4. maiden
  5. lass
  6. woman
Noun
  • Ella Beatty plays the daughter of a well-to-do New England family who develops a close relationship with her maid after abuse from her parents.
    — Erin Jensen, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Creative liberties include a romance between Borden and the family’s live-in maid, Bridget Sullivan (Vicky Krieps).
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of maid
Noun
  • Five older fillies and mares were entered in the 61/2-furlong sprint on the main track.
    — Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The Alcibiades and Jessamine are also worth watching because both are for two-year-old fillies, meaning the field is making its first serious appearance on a big stage.
    — Jill Barth, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of filly
Noun
  • The girls keep running into Lux (and to his nice new girlfriend) around town, and soon begin spending time with him on purpose.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Former Titans scout Blaise Taylor received consecutive life sentences after his conviction for poisoning his pregnant girlfriend.
    — Chris Branch, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of girlfriend
Noun
  • Both were wins, a maiden-breaking score at seven furlongs (3/4 of a mile) at Churchill Downs on June 7, 2026 and a valiant win by a neck in the mile and a sixteenth Indiana Derby on July 11.
    — Danny Brewer, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Ritual gifts include incense, flowers, perfume, cosmetics and soap, which Hor said are believed to bring beauty and charm after being blessed by the cowherd and seven maidens.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of maiden
Noun
  • The plot imperative of future Irina surviving to play a significant role in later seasons of For All Mankind gives us so much runway to imagine wild twists and turns for this crafty lass.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 10 July 2026
  • Laborious yet lithe lads and lasses have loyally leapt to luminate the lexical labyrinths of logic locking the lucrative lotto, longing to lure the lavish luxury lying latently in local landmarks.
    — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 28 Jan. 2026
Definition of lass
Noun
  • At that time, girls and women were not allowed to box in Ireland (or many other countries).
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Scholars hazarded theories as to how an unschooled middle-aged Black woman from the South could brush with genius.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of woman

Phrases Containing girl

Browse Nearby Words

girds
girl
girl Friday
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Girl.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/girl. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of facsimile

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All