girl next door

American

[gurl nekst dawr] / ˈgɜrl ˌnɛkst ˈdɔr /

noun

a girl or woman who exemplifies traditional or old-fashioned norms of behavior, gender, and beauty, and is generally considered to be pleasant, unassuming, familiar, and uncontroversial (often used attributively).

People still think of me as that goody-goody girl next door.
The actresses, with their girl next door image, make audiences swoon with their big smiles and friendly eyes.

Etymology

Origin of girl next door

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“These are from the girl next door. She’s old like you.”

From Literature

Her creator wanted a realistic girl next door, an English rose.

From The Wall Street Journal

Any way you slice it, Keaton, who died Saturday at 79, was a titan of American film acting—a quirky homegrown original, the quintessential girl next door, if your neighbors happened to be a family of smart, great-looking, irrepressible goofballs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Diane Keaton may have looked like the All-American girl next door, but she could knock someone twice her size flat out of the ring.

From The Wall Street Journal

The brunette poses for photos and showcases a fully AI-generated comedy sketch, where it is described as having "girl next door vibes."

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023