# girlfriend

/ˈɡɝɫˌfɹɛnd/ (US) · /ɡˈɜːlfɹɛnd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/girlfriend
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. romantic partner

noun · CEFR A1

a woman or girl that someone is having a romantic relationship with.

For teachers: a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship.

- He invited his girlfriend to meet his parents for dinner on Saturday.
- After dating for nearly three years, he finally introduced his girlfriend to his extended family during the holiday celebrations.

### 2. female friend

noun · CEFR B1 · Informal

a woman's female friend.

For teachers: a female friend of another female; often used in plural to refer to a social group.

- She is going out for coffee with her girlfriends this afternoon.
- She maintained a close-knit circle of girlfriends from her university days, meeting them annually for a weekend retreat.

### 3. term of address

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal · Slang

a friendly way to address a woman or a gay man.

For teachers: a familiar term of address used among women or within the gay community to signal rapport.

- Listen, girlfriend, you need to stop worrying about what he thinks.
- The speaker used the term 'girlfriend' as a playful, supportive interjection during their conversation about career goals.

## Examples

- He is going to the cinema with his girlfriend tonight.
- She introduced her new girlfriend to her parents during the holiday dinner last week.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.