plain Jane

noun

A young woman or girl of average or unremarkable appearance.

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Meanings

nounplain Jane (plural plain Janes)

plural plain Janes

  1. informalA young woman or girl of average or unremarkable appearance.

    Charm school instructors […] can do something even for the plainest of plain Janes.

    1954 November, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, volume 8, number 11, page 46
  2. attributiveinformalSomething basic and ordinary.

    Many of the early models had both a "plain Jane" model with open sights and a Deluxe (DL) version that had an aperture rear sight and a hooded target-type front sight-and, in some cases, sling swivels.

    1989, William S. Brophy, Marlin Firearms, page 320

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
common or garden varietygarden varietystandard issue

Translations

German graue Maus, unscheinbares Mädchen
  • graue Mausyoung woman of average or unremarkable appearance
  • unscheinbares Mädchenyoung woman of average or unremarkable appearance
  • farbloses junges Mädchenyoung woman of average or unremarkable appearance
Japanese 地味子
  • 地味子 (jimiko)young woman of average or unremarkable appearance
Polish szara mysz
  • szara myszyoung woman of average or unremarkable appearance
Russian се́рая мышь
  • се́рая мышь (séraja myšʹ)young woman of average or unremarkable appearance
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: plain Jane on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.