girl ‧ friend S3 /ˈɡɜːlfrend $ ˈɡɜːrl-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a girl or woman that you are having a romantic relationship with ⇨ boyfriend :
He’s never had a girlfriend.
sb’s girlfriend
He lives in Chicago with his girlfriend.
split up/break up with your girlfriend (=stop having a romantic relationship)
one of my ex-girlfriends (=former girlfriends)
I didn’t have a steady girlfriend (=one you have a long relationship with) .
2 . especially American English a woman or girl’s female friend:
She’s out with one of her girlfriends.
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THESAURUS
▪ girlfriend a girl or woman that you have a romantic relationship with, especially for a fairly long time:
Katherine was his first girlfriend.
▪ partner the person you are married to, or the person you are living with and having a sexual relationship with:
He brought his partner along to the party.
▪ old flame informal someone who was your girlfriend or boyfriend in the past:
I found a love letter from one of his old flames.
▪ mistress a woman that a man has a sexual relationship with even though he is married to someone else. Often used when the man is famous or powerful:
The president had a mistress for many years.
▪ lover someone who you have a sexual relationship with, but who you are not married to:
He was going to meet his secret lover.
▪ fiancée the woman who a man is going to marry:
Rod plans to marry his fiancée later this year.
▪ ex informal a man's former wife or girlfriend:
My ex looks after the children on Thursdays.
▪ be going out with somebody if you are going out with a girl or woman, she is your girlfriend:
She's going out with a guy she met at work.