girl
A girl is a female under the age of 18 or a female who has not yet reached adult maturity.
Kathryn is an eleven-year-old girl.
a. A girl is a young female.
This word is used for a female child, but it is also used for adult women.
- There’s a girl playing on the swings.
- Several other girls are playing in the sandbox.
- Caroline is going out with the girls in the office this afternoon. (girls = other women)
- The girls’ volleyball team is doing quite well this year.
- Ralph is suddenly interested in girls. (He has a natural interest in the opposite gender.)
- Ned and Marjorie have two girls and a boy. (They have three children: two are female and one is male.)
- These girls are best friends.
- One girl is six; the other girl is seven.
- They’re good girls!
- The girls took a minute to pose for a picture together.
b. girlfriend
A girlfriend is a friend of another girl, or this term may indicate a romantic friendship.
- Karen and her girlfriends are going out for lunch today.
- Joe is thinking about asking his girlfriend to marry him.
- Chad broke up with his girlfriend. He now refers to her as his “ex-girlfriend.” (ex-girlfriend / ex: a past romantic partner)
- Will you be my girlfriend?
- Pat has several different girlfriends right now.
- Maria enjoys spending time with her girlfriends.
- Tim went for a walk with his girlfriend.
c. These expressions include the word "girl."
- She seems like the girl next door. (a nice girl; an ordinary but pleasant woman)
- Jane is such a girly girl. (very feminine)
- Belinda is a daddy’s girl. (a girl or woman whose father supports her decisions and activities)
- Tonight is a girls’ night out for Ursula and Teresa. (an opportunity to go out with a group of girls–no men)
- Christina and Sophie are the mean girls in our class. (mean girls = intentionally cruel and mean)
- It’s now much more common to see girls playing sports once dominated by boys.