female

female — adjective

1. describing people, qualities, or things that are connected with women or girls r

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

describing people, qualities, or things that are connected with women or girls rather than with men or boys.

Example

The scholarship programme at this university supports female students from rural areas.

collocation: female students

Female athletes at the national level still face unfair pay in many countries.

Common collocations
  • female students
  • female workers
  • female population
  • female role
  • female voice
  • female perspective
Synonyms
  • feminine

    focuses on socially expected qualities (grace, gentleness) rather than biological category

  • womanly

    used for positive adult female qualities like warmth and maturity; not for girls or animals

  • girly

    informal; describes interests or styles stereotypically liked by young girls

Antonyms
  • male

    the opposite sex category for humans and animals

  • masculine

    relates to qualities socially linked to men, not biological sex

Grammar Patterns

female + noun

be + female

Usage Note

In modern English, 'female' as an adjective is used descriptively for people. 'Feminine' is preferred when talking about social or cultural qualities traditionally linked to women.

Common Mistakes

She is a very female person.
She is a very feminine person.
'Female' describes biological or demographic category; 'feminine' describes qualities or appearance.
The female students are more organised than the male ones.' (correct but overly formal in casual talk)
The girls in the class are more organised than the boys.
In everyday conversation, 'female' as an adjective can sound clinical.

2. of the kind in animals and humans that makes eggs and brings forth offspring, as

2.adjectiveA2
Definition

of the kind in animals and humans that makes eggs and brings forth offspring, as opposed to the kind that makes sperm.

Example

The female cat gave birth to four healthy kittens in the basket behind the sofa.

female + animal noun for sex distinction

Female mosquitoes are the ones that bite humans and feed on their blood.

Common collocations
  • female body
  • female hormone
  • female reproductive system
  • female offspring
  • female of the species
Synonyms
  • woman

    only for adult humans; not used for animals

  • she-

    prefix for animals, e.g. 'she-wolf'; informal or literary

Antonyms
  • male

    the sex that produces sperm, not eggs

Grammar Patterns

female + noun

be + female

Usage Note

This sense overlaps with sense 1 when applied to humans. Use sense 1 for social or demographic contexts and sense 2 when emphasising biological or reproductive functions.

Common Mistakes

Female humans have two X chromosomes.' (grammatically fine but sounds odd)
Human females have two X chromosomes.
In scientific contexts, the noun form is more natural than the adjective with 'human'.

3. describing a plant whose flowers develop into fruit or seeds once they have rece

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

describing a plant whose flowers develop into fruit or seeds once they have received pollen.

Example

A pumpkin plant's female flower must receive pollen from a male flower to grow fruit.

female flower — botanical term for fruit-producing flower

Farmers plant male and female papaya trees close together so that fruit can develop.

Common collocations
  • female flower
  • female plant
  • female part
  • female blossom
  • female reproductive organ (of a plant)
Synonyms
  • pistillate

    technical botanical term for flowers that have a pistil but no stamens

  • fruit-bearing

    describes the function rather than the biological sex

Antonyms
  • male

    plant or flower that produces pollen, not fruit

Grammar Patterns

female + plant/flower/part

Usage Note

Used mainly in botany, gardening, and agriculture. The opposite is 'male', which refers to the pollen-producing parts of a plant.

4. describing a component of a tool or device that contains an empty space designed

4.adjectiveB2
Definition

describing a component of a tool or device that contains an empty space designed to connect with another piece that fits into it.

Example

The plumber replaced the female pipe end which had cracked around the connecting joint.

female end — mechanical part with internal hole

This electrical extension cord has a female connector designed to fit a three-pin plug.

Common collocations
  • female connector
  • female socket
  • female end
  • female opening
  • female thread
Synonyms
  • hollow

    less technical and does not imply a matching male part

  • socket

    used as a noun for the receiving part of a connection

Antonyms
  • male

    describes the protruding part designed to fit into the female part

Grammar Patterns

female + connector/socket/end/part

Usage Note

Common in plumbing, electronics, and hardware contexts. The opposite is 'male', which refers to the part that sticks out and fits into the female opening.

Common Mistakes

Plug the male end into the female end.' (correct but needs context)
Plug the USB cable's male end into the female port on the computer.
Clarify which device part is which.

female — noun

Word family

  • feminine
    adjectiveB1
  • femininity
    nounB2
  • feminism
    nounB2
  • feminist
    nounB2
  • feminist
    adjectiveB2
  • femaleness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Female' is a neutral, factual word that describes biological or demographic categories — it is used for humans, animals, and even plants. 'Feminine' refers to qualities or behaviours that a society considers typical of women, such as gentleness or grace; a man can have a 'feminine' side, but he would never be called 'female'. 'Womanly' is a positive term for adult women, suggesting maturity, warmth, and strength — calling a woman 'womanly' compliments her, whereas calling her 'female' simply states a fact. 'Girly' is informal and often describes stereotypical young-female interests like pink clothes, dolls, or makeup. For example: 'The female students outnumbered the male students' (factual), 'She has a very feminine style of dressing' (cultural quality), 'Her womanly wisdom helped the team through the crisis' (admiring, adult), and 'The little girl loves all things girly like princess dresses and glitter.'

female ↗feminine ↗womanlygirly

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • female of the species
  • male and female

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'female' comes from Latin 'femella', meaning 'young woman' or 'girl', which is a smaller version of 'femina' ('woman'). It entered English through Old French 'femele'. Interestingly, the spelling was later changed under the influence of the word 'male', even though they are not related in origin — 'male' comes from Latin 'masculus' ('masculine'), a completely different root.