plural noun
Female children or young teenagers.
There are many girls in the class.
The girls are playing in the park.
American English
How to pronounce girls
nounA1Very common word
GERLZ
/gɚlz/
One syllable.
Form of girl
The meaning of girls depends on context: it can refer to female children, young women, female friends, or daughters.
Female children or young teenagers.
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
plural noun
Young women; informally, female friends or a group of female friends.
The girls want to go shopping.
The girls are singing a song.
Good to know
For adult women, girls can sound too casual or disrespectful in some situations. Use women when you want to sound neutral.
plural noun
Daughters, especially when someone speaks about them with affection.
Their girls love animals.
My girls start school this year.
Good to know
Girls can mean daughters when the context shows that the speaker is talking about her own or someone else's children.
Useful expressions
a friendly, ordinary young woman
He married the girl next door.
confidence and strength shown by girls or women
The campaign celebrates girl power.
an evening when female friends go out together
We're planning a girls' night out.