a female offspring; a girl or woman in relation to her parents
2.
a female descendant
3.
a female from a certain country, etc, or one closely connected with a certain environment, etc
a daughter of the church
▶ Related adjective: filial
4. (often capital) archaic
a form of address for a girl or woman
adjective
5. biology
denoting a cell or unicellular organism produced by the division of one of its own kind
6. physics
(of a nuclide) formed from another nuclide by radioactive decay
Derived forms
daughterhood (ˈdaughterhood)
noun
daughterless (ˈdaughterless)
adjective
daughter-like (ˈdaughter-ˌlike)
adjective
daughterliness (ˈdaughterliness)
noun
daughterly (ˈdaughterly)
adjective
Word origin
Old English dohtor; related to Old High German tohter daughter, Greek thugatēr, Sanskrit duhitá
daughter in American English
(ˈdɔtər)
noun
1.
a girl or woman as she is related to either or both parents: sometimes also used of animals
2.
a female descendant
3.
a.
a stepdaughter
b.
an adopted daughter
c.
a daughter-in-law
4.
a female thought of as having been formed by some influence, as a child is by a parent
a daughter of the French Revolution
5.
anything thought of as like a daughter in relation to its source or origin
colonies are daughters of the mother country
6. Physics
an element that results immediately from the disintegration of a radioactive element
Word origin
ME doughter < OE dohtor, akin to Goth dauhtar, Ger tochter < IE base *dhugheter > Sans duhitár, Gr thugatēr
Examples of 'daughter' in a sentence
daughter
It worked perfectly until his eldest daughter asked to see the packaging.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
How would she feel if one of her daughters wanted a career like hers?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They have two daughters and two granddaughters.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We just feel incredibly lucky to have a beautiful son and daughter.
The Sun (2017)
And would you encourage your teenage daughters to do it?
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
He is estranged from his eldest son and daughter.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You have a very young daughter.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
You need to be united in addressing your younger daughter's behaviour.
The Sun (2016)
They had a daughter a year younger than me.
The Sun (2013)
My eldest daughter is at university and uses the car to get to and from her classes.
The Sun (2014)
My eldest son and daughter could now write well and fast.
Richard Ingrams The Life and Adventures of William Cobbett (2005)
Until this weekend he had not had the right to receive his son and daughter there.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He was married twice and is survived by his three sons and two daughters.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Another one gave birth to twelve daughter churches during my ministry.
Christianity Today (2000)
Our youngest daughters have been best friends since they were three years old.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
His two daughters are at university here.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They had a son and four daughters.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
He is survived by his wife and their two daughters.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
My eldest daughter sees things differently.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Now the church wants my daughter.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
She spoke from knowledge, having watched her teenage daughter die naturally of cancer.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He also has a one-year-old daughter by a woman he met in a nightclub two years ago.
The Sun (2015)
When the cell divides, each daughter cell gets one of the chains.
Schneider, Hermann & Schneider, Leo The Harper Dictionary of Science in Everyday Language (1988)
I confronted him about it and he said this woman had two daughters but insisted only one was his.
The Sun (2006)
Not only that, she combines cheerleading with a full-time job and bringing up two teenage daughters on her own.
The Sun (2012)
In other languages
daughter
British English: daughter /ˈdɔːtə/ NOUN
Your daughter is your female child.
She has three daughters.
American English: daughter
Arabic: اِبْنَة
Brazilian Portuguese: filha
Chinese: 女儿
Croatian: kći
Czech: dcera
Danish: datter
Dutch: dochter
European Spanish: hija
Finnish: tytär
French: fille filiation
German: Tochter
Greek: κόρη
Italian: figlia
Japanese: 娘
Korean: 딸
Norwegian: datter
Polish: córka
European Portuguese: filha
Romanian: fiică
Russian: дочь
Latin American Spanish: hija
Swedish: dotter
Thai: ลูกสาว
Turkish: kız evlat
Ukrainian: дочка
Vietnamese: con gái con đẻ
All related terms of 'daughter'
daughter cell
either of the two cells that result from the division of a cell, as in mitosis
foster daughter
a girl raised like one's own daughter , though not such by birth or adoption
bastard daughter
an illegitimate daughter
daughter-in-law
Someone's daughter-in-law is the wife of one of their children.
scavenger's daughter
an instrument of torture that doubled over and squeezed the body so strongly and violently that blood was brought forth from the ears and nose : invented in 16th-century England
goddaughter
A goddaughter is a female godchild.
stepdaughter
Someone's stepdaughter is a daughter that was born to their husband or wife during a previous relationship .
Chinese translation of 'daughter'
daughter
(ˈdɔːtəʳ)
n(c)
女儿(兒) (nǚ'ér) (个(個), gè)
1 (noun)
Definition
a female child
He had a daughter aged seventeen.
Synonyms
female child
girl
My sister has two little girls.
lass (informal)
She's a Lancashire lass from Longton, near Preston.
2 (noun)
Definition
a girl or woman who comes from a certain place or is connected with a certain thing
Synonyms
descendant
They are descendants of the original settlers.
girl
related words
related adjectivefilial
Additional synonyms
in the sense of girl
My sister has two little girls.
Synonyms
daughter,
female child
in the sense of lass
Definition
a girl or young woman
She's a Lancashire lass from Longton, near Preston.