lesbian

Syllables: lesb·i·anUK/ˈlɛz.bi.ən/

lesbian adjective: homosexual, gay; preferring exclusively women as romantic or sexual partners. Also the alternative letter-case form of Lesbian.

Adjective (1)

lesbian (comparative more lesbian, superlative most lesbian)

Homosexual, gay; preferring exclusively women as romantic or sexual partners.
- Lesbian fans of the show were rooting for Jane and Amanda to get together.
1. (broadly) Preferring primarily women as romantic or sexual partners.
Between two or more women; homosexual, gay.
- a lesbian relationship / marriage / kiss
- The so-termed Lesbian love is a vice of a still more hideous and degrading nature than pederasty.1855 [1854], Charles Hempel, transl., Homœopathic guide in all diseases of the Urinary and Sexual Organs, Philadelphia: Rademacher & Sheek, translation of Der homöopathische Rathgeber: in allen...
Synonyms:

dyke, gay, homosexual
(especially) Intended for lesbians.
- We're going to a lesbian bar tonight.
- Some lesbians also felt comfortable in the entertainment clubs in the black section of the city; these clubs were not lesbian but were lesbian friendly.2000, Bonnie Zimmerman, Encyclopedia of lesbian and gay histories and cultures, volume 1, page 135

Noun (1)

lesbian (plural lesbians)

A homosexual woman, a woman who is exclusively sexually or romantically attracted to other women.
- There have also been women who loved other women. These are the Lesbians or Tribades.1904, Jacobus X, Crossways of Sex: A Study in Eroto-pathology, volume 1, page 2
- Another Spanish-speaking respondent said that she does not identify as a lesbian because that is a term for women who like women, and as she does not like women, and so she cannot be a lesbian.2020, Ana Patrícia Hilário, Fábio Rafael Augusto, Practical and Ethical Dilemmas in Researching Sensitive Topics with Populations Considered Vulnerable, page 91
Synonyms:

beanflicker, bulldiker, bulldyker, carpet muncher, chemise lifter, clam smacker, clitorist, crack snacker, donut bumper, dyke
(uncommon) A female animal that performs courtship, pairing or mating behavior with other female animals.
- There was one recently that determined on an island off California 14 percent of the female sea gulls were lesbians (and we know that kind of thing would never go among Nantucket sea gulls).1979, Terry Hekker, Ever Since Adam and Eve, New York: Morrow
- The only between this pair and others in the community is that they are among the 8 to 14 percent of the residents that are lesbians. After building their nest, the pair, two female western gulls, customarily produce twice as many eggs […]2014, George H Harrison, Birds Do It, Too: The Amazing Sex Life of Birds, Willow Creek Press, →ISBN

Verb

lesbian (third-person singular simple present lesbians, present participle lesbianing, simple past and past participle lesbianed)

(ambitransitive, informal, nonstandard) To (cause to) take part in lesbian sex, or other lesbian activity.
- That's the way I want to go – Lesbianed to death.2014, Ian Collin, Angels of The North, page 107
- Surveillance by other inmates creates yet another dimension of power and control. Angry with Chapman and Vause, Dogget tells Healy that she has witnessed the two “lesbianing” in the shower, […]2016, April Kalogeropoulos Householder, Adrienne Trier-Bieniek, Feminist Perspectives on Orange Is the New Black, page 85

Noun (2) capitalized: Lesbian

Lesbian (countable and uncountable, plural Lesbians)

(countable) A native or inhabitant of Lesbos.

Synonyms:

Lesvian, Lesviot, Lesbosian
(uncountable) The variety of Aeolic Greek spoken on Lesbos from about 800 to 300 b.c., best known from the writings of Sappho and Alcaeus of Mytilene.
(historical) A sweet, mild wine made on Lesbos in ancient times.
- Our Saviour in the gospel preferreth old wine before new; & Aristotle liketh better of the wine of Lesbos, the the^([sic]) wine of Rhodes; he affirmeth both to be good, but the Lesbian the more pleasant, alluding vnder that parable to the successour of his schoole, and noting his choise rather of...1597, John King, Lectures upon Jonas […] , page 1
- […] but the best Greek Wines, the Chian, Lesbian, Coan, &c. were equally prepared in the same manner; and we have reason to think that the same process was more generally used, and in preparing some of the best and most generous Italian wines.1775, Edward Barry, Observations, Historical, Critical, and Medical, on the Wines of the Ancients, page 99
(countable) Alternative letter-case form of lesbian (“gay woman”).

Adjective (2) capitalized: Lesbian

Lesbian (comparative more Lesbian, superlative most Lesbian)

Of or pertaining to the island of Lesbos.
- Within twenty-four hours of quitting the security of a Lesbian port, all the contrarieties I had experienced were to be exceeded by the horrors of a tremendous hurricane.1805, J. Griffiths, Travels in Europe, Asia Minor, and Arabia, London: T. Cadell, page 232
Synonyms:

Lesbosian
Of or pertaining to the Lesbian variety of Aeolic Greek.
Alternative letter-case form of lesbian (“of women: gay”).
- Except two breeds—the stupid and the narrowly feline—all women have a touch of the Lesbian: an assertion all good non-analytic creatures refute with horror, but quite true: there is always the poignant intensive personal taste, the flair of inner-sex, in the tenderest friendships of women.1901, Mary MacLane, edited by Margo Culley, A Day at a Time, published 1985
- One woman wrote, “Because you are Black and Lesbian, you seem to speak with the moral authority of suffering.” Yes, I am Black and Lesbian, and what you hear in my voice is fury, not suffering.1984, Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider
(archaic) Amatory; erotic.
- Lesbian novels

Also used as

lesbian is also the alternative letter-case form of Lesbian.

lesbian meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

lesbian in Tamil

gay woman: லெஸ்பியன் lespiyaṉ, லெசுபியன் lecupiyaṉ, மகிழினி makiḻiṉi, மாயிழை māyiḻai, அகனள் akaṉaḷ

lesbian in Marathi

of a woman: preferring women partners: लेस्बियन lesbiyan
between two women; pertaining to women's homosexuality: लेस्बियन lesbiyan
gay woman: लेस्बियन lesbiyan

lesbian in Urdu

gay woman: لسبین lesbiyan

More languagesFewer languages

lesbian in Bengali: লেসবিয়ান lesbiẏan
lesbian in Telugu: లెస్బియన్, లెస్బియాన్, లెస్బియన్నింగ్
lesbian in Malayalam: ലെസ്ബിയൻ, ലെസ്ബിയനിംഗ്, ലെസ്ബിയനിങ്
lesbian in Kannada: ಲೆಸ್ಬಿಯನ್, ಲೆಸ್ಬಿಯಾನ್
lesbian in Punjabi: ਲੈਸਬੀਅਨਿੰਗ
lesbian in Gujarati: લેસ્બિયન
lesbian in Odia: ଲେସ୍ବିଆନ୍, ଲେସବିଆନ, ଲେସ୍ବିଆନ
lesbian in Nepali: लेस्बिअनिङ
lesbian in Tagalog: lesbya, tomboy, tibo, lesbiyana
lesbian in Arabic: مِثْلِيّة miṯliyya, مِثْلِيّات miṯliyyāt, سِحَاقِيّ siḥāqiyy, سِحَاقِيَّة siḥāqiyya
lesbian in Indonesian: lesbi, lesbian
lesbian in Persian: لزبین lezbiyan
lesbian in Thai: หญิงรักร่วมเพศ yǐng-rák-rûuam-pêet, เลสเบียน léet-bîian
lesbian in Vietnamese: đồng tính, người đồng tính nữ

Examples of lesbian in a sentence

[…] Madonna's infamous nationally televised lesbian kiss with Britney Spears […]2011, Michael Bruce, Robert M. Stewart, College Sex - Philosophy for Everyone, →ISBN, page 32:
Openly gay poets such as Allen Ginsberg were prominent among the beats, and many North Beach bars were gay and lesbian as well as bohemian.2008, Carl Abbott, How cities won the West: four centuries of urban change, page 283:

All 40 example sentences with lesbian

Synonyms of lesbian

26 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of lesbian

Forms of lesbian

Adjective
comparative	more lesbian
superlative	most lesbian
alternative form	le$bian
alternative form	le dollar bean
alternative form	les🫘
comparative	more Lesbian
superlative	most Lesbian
Noun
plural	lesbians
plural	Lesbians
Verb
third-person singular present	lesbians
present participle	lesbianing
past participle	lesbianed
past	lesbianed

Plural of lesbian: lesbians

Origin of lesbian

From Latin Lesbiana, from Ancient Greek Λέσβος (Lésbos) + Latin adjective suffix -iana; by reference to Sappho of Lesbos (whence also sapphist, sapphic), known for her sentimental poems about women. This sense of the word may have been borrowed from, or influenced by, the German cognate lesbisch, where it is found in medical literature from the 1830s.

From Latin Lesbius (“Lesbian”) (for further etymology, see Ancient Greek Λέσβος (Lésbos)) + adjective suffix -an, from Latin adjective suffix -anus. The sense of “gay woman” is a reference to Sappho, a famous inhabitant of Lesbos and gay poet.

Words formed from lesbian

Phrases with lesbian

Words that rhyme with lesbian

Questions about lesbian

What does lesbian mean?: Lesbian means homosexual, gay; preferring exclusively women as romantic or sexual partners.
What is lesbian in Hindi?: Lesbian in Hindi is लेस्बियन (lesbiyan). See Lesbian meaning in Hindi.
How do you use lesbian in a sentence?: […] Madonna's infamous nationally televised lesbian kiss with Britney Spears […]
What part of speech is lesbian?: Lesbian can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce lesbian?: Lesbian is pronounced /ˈlɛz.bi.ən/ (UK).

Words near lesbian in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: lesbian (page history and authors); Lesbian (page history and authors); lesbian (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); lesbian (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); lesbian (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); lesbian (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); lesbian (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); lesbian (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); lesbian (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-lesbian.wav.

Cite this entry: “lesbian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lesbian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.