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Definition of "lesbian" []

  • A woman whose sexual orientation is to women. (noun)
  • Of, relating to, or being a lesbian. See Usage Note at gay. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "lesbian" in a sentence
  • "His uncle gave him some silver and a letter of introduction, and sent him off to visit the philosopher Pherecydes, on the nearby island of Lesbos, the island from which the term lesbian is derived."
  • "This was a jarring moment; the word lesbian had never been used before in a presidential debate."
  • "Three residents of Lesbos, the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, whose love poems inspired the term lesbian, filed suit last month, contending that their identity was insulted by the use of the word in reference to gay women, but the court said that the word didn't define the identity of Lesbos residents, and so could be used legitimately by gay groups in Greece and abroad."