Meaning & use
girl next door
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Meanings
nounsingular
A young woman seen as friendly, natural and easy to like, rather than glamorous or mysterious.
Grammar: Used with the: she plays the girl next door.
Patterns
- the girl next door
- play the girl next door
The actress built her career playing the girl next door in romantic comedies.
With her warm smile and plain clothes she had a girl-next-door charm.
He fell for the girl next door, whom he had known since childhood.
nounsingular
A girl who actually lives in the house beside yours.
Grammar: Literal meaning: she is the girl next door, a real neighbor.
Patterns
- the girl next door
The girl next door waters our plants when we are away.
I used to babysit the girl next door when I was a teenager.
The girl next door waved at us from her window.
Word forms
| plural | girls next door |
|---|
Common combinations
- girl-next-door looks
- She had natural girl-next-door looks.
- play the girl next door
- She was tired of being asked to play the girl next door.
- the girl-next-door type
- He said he preferred the girl-next-door type.
- the boy next door
- The boy next door is the male version of the same idea.
- girl-next-door charm
- Her girl-next-door charm made the show popular.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wholesome
- Wholesome is a general adjective for something healthy and good, while girl next door names a specific type of person.
- approachable
- Approachable describes friendliness and ease of talking to anyone, and does not carry the specific image that girl next door does.
- down-to-earth
- Down-to-earth means practical and natural in manner, but it can describe anyone of any age or gender.
- sweetheart
- Sweetheart is an affectionate name for someone, while girl next door describes a type of look or personality.
Opposites
Word family
- neighbor noun
- a person who lives near you
- next-door adjective
- in the nearest house
- boy next door noun
- the male equivalent of the same image
Commonly confused: girl next door or girl next door vs girlfriend?
girl next door vs girl next door vs girlfriend
The girl next door may live nearby and become a girlfriend, but the phrase itself only describes a wholesome type or a literal neighbor.
Practice
A film critic says the actress is perfect as the girl next door. What does that most likely suggest?
Choose one answer.
The girl next door is a friendly, wholesome and approachable type. The other roles are glamorous or unusual, which is the opposite of the image.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “girl next door”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.