final girl

noun

A female character in a horror or thriller film who is the last person alive to confront the killer or monster, and often the sole survivor.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounfinal girl (plural final girls)

plural final girls

  1. broadcastingA female character in a horror or thriller film who is the last person alive to confront the killer or monster, and often the sole survivor.

Origin

Coined by film theorist Carol J. Clover in her book Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film (1992).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

final girl. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/final%20girl

MLA

“final girl.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/final%20girl. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “final girl,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/final%20girl.

Source: final girl on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.