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:
When a baby is born, or your daughter gets married, do you read a piece of legislation to commemorate the occasion or do you quote a poem, or dedicate a song?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Lowe and Painter first welcomed daughter Mabel in 2009 and their youngest daughter, Nixie, in 2016.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Shahim Khan, 42, still performs magic on Delhi's streets, sometimes with his 12-year-old daughter, Alia.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
“There was chaos, both the pilots had been incapacitated,” said Dubrovsky, who was seated in Row 8 and returning with his wife and 14-year-old daughter from a hiking trip in Nepal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Also those,” he pointed to the hats of mother and daughter still dangling from the pegs on the dining room wall.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Fiona celebrated her 13th birthday in November and was the second of the couple’s three daughters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
She said she’s homeschooling her three daughters because the local public school options just “weren’t up to par.”
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
English cricketers aiming to play in a men's T20 franchise tournament organised by the Afghanistan Cricket Board have been urged to think about their "daughters, sisters or mothers".
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
DNA linked her to her parents, her brother, and two daughters.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
“Hijita mía, youngest of my daughters, la más pequeña de mis Mariposas,” the goddess said, turning her attention to Pita.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions 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.
