/ gɜːl; NAmE gɜːrl/ noun
1.
[ C ] a female child :
a baby girl
a little girl of six
Hello, girls and boys!
—see also poster child
2.
[ C ] a daughter :
Our youngest girl is at college.
3.
[ C ] (sometimes offensive ) a young woman :
Alex is not interested in girls yet.
He married the girl next door.
4.
[ C ] (usually in compounds) ( old-fashioned , offensive ) a female worker :
an office girl
5.
[ C ] ( old-fashioned ) a man's girlfriend
6.
girls [ pl. ] ( used especially as a form of address by women ) a woman's female friends :
I'm having a night out with the girls.
Good morning, girls!
7.
[ sing. ] old girl (often offensive ) an old woman, especially sb's wife or mother :
How is the old girl these days?
•
IDIOMS
see big adjective
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (denoting a child or young person of either sex): perhaps related to Low German gör child.