girlboss

noun

girl·boss ˈgər(-ə)l-ˌbȯs

-ˌbäs

variants or less commonly girl boss

plural girlbosses also girl bosses

: an ambitious and successful woman (especially a businesswoman or entrepreneur)

As … a female captain of industry, she became an accidental role model of female ambition and success. She was the ultimate girlboss.—

Julia Molony

"I think the biggest part of being a girl boss in the office, at home, or anywhere you go is just knowing your value," [Meghan] Markle says.—

Samantha Simon

Instead of changing the system, the girlboss just took on those traditional leadership roles and claimed the problem had been solved by the nature of her being there. But, by deeming her "girlboss" instead of just "boss," we kept her separate, somehow othered, in the workplace world that she'd become a part of.—

Abby Snyder

girlboss feminism

the girl-boss era

girlboss verb, transitive + intransitive

or less commonly girl-boss

girlbossed also girl-bossed; girlbossing also girl-bossing; girlbosses also girl-bosses

… girlbossing her way towards greater authority … —

Abigail Nussbaum

Examples of girlboss in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Divorce him, sis! Taken together, the comments feel almost like the next wave of girlboss or Lean In feminism, where instead of acting more like men in professional settings, women are viewing men as a hopeless cause, treating them the way patriarchy has treated women for eternity. —

Rebecca Jennings, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 Scratch a girlboss, find a monster is a common revelation in these shows. —

Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024 This passive-aggressive girlboss duel never rises to the level of actual dramatic stakes. —

Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 Sep. 2024 Have a thoughtful Juneteenth. – After the girlboss. —

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 19 June 2024 Her defiance of these obstacles is dramatized on familiar girlboss terms, entangled with some strained agricultural metaphors. —

Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 July 2024 The broad idea of a girlboss is in need of reinvention, not a funeral—one that is cognizant of its drawbacks but acknowledges its power and the need for an alternative path. —

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 19 June 2024 John and Jane stay in the hotel room next door to their targets: billionaire girlboss Gavol Martin (Sharon Horgan) and her ex-pro-surfer husband Parker (Billy Campbell). —

Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024 Bellugi gives a sufficiently winsome performance to paper over the essential dullness of her character, as Teresa pivots from noble martyr to inspiring leader, while her female peers are largely conceived in cheery girlboss shorthand. —

Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'girlboss.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.