- an animal that can lay eggs or give birth to babies; a plant that can produce fruit
- One adult female can lay 400 to 500 eggs.
- Females may mate with a number of males.
- (formal) a woman or a girl
- The suspect is a white female aged 30–35.
- More females than males are employed in the factory.
- The survey showed that young females are the most frequent users of crisis lines.
opposite male
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French femelle, from Latin femella, diminutive of femina ‘a woman’. The change in the ending was due to association with male, but the words male and female are not linked etymologically.
Check pronunciation:
female