daughter
Americannoun
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daughters
plural
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a female child or person in relation to her parents.
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any female descendant.
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a person related as if by the ties binding daughter to parent.
daughter of the church.
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anything personified as female and considered with respect to its origin.
The United States is the daughter of the 13 colonies.
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Chemistry, Physics. an isotope formed by radioactive decay of another isotope.
adjective
noun
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a female offspring; a girl or woman in relation to her parents
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a female descendant
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a female from a certain country, etc, or one closely connected with a certain environment, etc
a daughter of the church
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archaic (often capital) a form of address for a girl or woman
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biology denoting a cell or unicellular organism produced by the division of one of its own kind
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physics (of a nuclide) formed from another nuclide by radioactive decay
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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daughterhoodnoun
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daughterlinessnoun
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daughter-likeadjective
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daughterlessadjective
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daughterlikeadjective
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daughterlyadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of daughter
before 950; Middle English doughter, Old English dohtor; cognate with German Tochter, Greek thygátēr, Sanskrit duhitā
Explanation
A daughter is a female offspring, and while it is usually referring to the female child's relationship to her parents, it might be used to suggest any similar relationship, such as the organization “Daughters of the American Revolution.” The English word daughter appeared before the Tenth Century as the Old English dohtor and later the Middle English doughter. Any connected group of women might be referred to as "daughters," For example, the "daughters of Zion" of the Bible and the "Daughters of Elysium" in Beethoven’s "Ode to Joy" closing to his Ninth Symphony. If people say you are your mother's daughter, aside from pointing out the obvious they are saying the two of you have a lot in common.
Vocabulary lists containing daughter
List 6
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Spelling Practice, Unit 7
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
His daughter, Adriana Esparza, told Telemundo 52 that her father had called her from the jail saying ICE was outside and hung up just after telling her they were capturing him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026
Their daughter Marjorie died in 1934 of puerperal fever after childbirth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
After a brief war, the city is under the control of the national army but life is far from normal, says Firut, a single mother of a 10-year-old daughter.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026
Our daughter is 33, and she lives with her child.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026
She gave Janet all the freedom she’d never had as a child, and when her daughter proved to be the responsible sort, she gave herself a little freedom, too.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
“He was a devoted husband of over 30 years, loving father to our three daughters, and cherished friend to so many. His loss is immeasurable.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026
Maria Peves, 66, said she and her two daughters had come because "to see the face of the pope gives me peace of mind that inspires confidence."
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2026
By his 20s, he was married with two daughters and working in commercial real estate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026
He is also the father of two adult daughters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
He’d always insisted that daughters were as good as sons.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
