filly

noun

fil·​ly ˈfi-lē 

plural fillies

1

: a young female horse usually of less than four years

2

: a young woman : girl

Synonyms

• girl
• lass
• lassie
• miss
• missy
• nymph
• sheila [Australian & New Zealand]

Examples of filly in a Sentence

she's still a filly, so she has plenty of time to decide what she wants to do in life

Recent Examples on the Web

The winner was a 4-year-old filly named Rugelach, and Denman punctuated her runaway victory with one of his familiar expressions. —Jay Posner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2025

Also this weekend are three Kentucky Oaks prep races for 3-year-old fillies that award 50 points to the winners. —Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025

All those 3-year-old fillies and others ahead on the Kentucky Oaks Trail are chasing the fine filly Good Cheer, who sailed clear to remain undefeated (5-for-5) with another resounding win as the 1/9 heavy favorite last Saturday in the Rachel Alexander Stakes at the Fair Grounds. —Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025

But McPeek did something that hasn’t been done since 1952, winning the Kentucky Oaks for fillies and the Kentucky Derby on consecutive days. —John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 25 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fyly, from Old Norse fylja; akin to Old English fola foal

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for filly

• billie
• billy
• chilli
• chilly
• dilly
• frilly
• gillie
• gilly
• hilly
• lily
• philly
• really

Kids Definition

filly

noun

fil·​ly ˈfil-ē 

plural fillies

: a young female horse usually less than four years old