Define woman
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Executive summary
Definitions of “woman” vary across legal, scientific and everyday usage: dictionaries and encyclopedias commonly define “woman” as an adult female human [1] [2], while recent legal and political actions in 2025 have explicitly tied the term to biological sex — for example the U.S. Executive Order and White House statement defining women as “human females” [3] [4] and the UK Supreme Court ruling that the Equality Act’s ordinary meaning corresponds with biological characteristics [5] [6].
1. Common-language and encyclopedic definitions: adult female human
Major reference sources present “woman” in straightforward biological and social terms: Cambridge Dictionary lists a woman as “an adult female human being” and also notes usage for adults who live and identify as female [7]. Wikipedia likewise states “a woman is an adult female human” and describes typical biological traits associated with the female sex while also discussing social concepts like femininity [2].
2. Legal interpretations are shifting toward biological sex in 2025
In 2025, high-profile legal and executive actions have emphasized biological definitions. The UK Supreme Court ruled that the ordinary meaning of “woman” in the Equality Act aligns with biological characteristics, a judgment that the court said excludes some transgender women from that statutory meaning [5] [6]. In the U.S., a 2025 White House executive order and related statements define “women” as “human females” and instruct federal agencies to apply sex‑protective laws accordingly [3] [4].
3. Dictionaries note both biological and identity-based uses
Cambridge’s entries show the term is used both for the biological category and for adults who “identify as female,” signaling that everyday and linguistic practice can encompass identity as well as anatomy [7]. This dual usage underpins competing claims: linguistic authorities accept identity-based usage while some courts and governments in 2025 prefer biological definitions [7] [5].
4. Policy implications: law, services and rights
When statutes, administrative rules, or courts adopt a strictly biological definition, the outcome affects who qualifies for single‑sex services, protections, and programs. The UK ruling and U.S. executive actions explicitly frame protections and sex‑segregated spaces around biological sex, not gender identity [5] [3]. Available sources do not mention every specific policy consequence; they do show governments intend to apply the definitions across legal and administrative contexts [3] [4].
5. Social and cultural perspectives: identity and historical context
Beyond legal language, cultural conversations and commemorations (Women’s History Month, International Women’s Day) treat “women” as a political, social and historical category tied to rights and empowerment [8] [9]. Opinion and personal‑essay sources — for example a 2025 Medium piece — reflect lived, aspirational and identity‑based views of womanhood in contemporary life [10].
6. Conflicting agendas and who is advancing which definition
Judicial rulings and executive orders emphasizing biology come from conservative legal challenges and government action [5] [3]. Language resources and many cultural institutions continue to document identity‑based usages and histories of women’s rights [7] [8] [9]. These alignments suggest differing underlying agendas: legal actors pursue clarity and protection of sex‑based rights; advocates and some linguistic authorities emphasize inclusion of gender identity and lived experience [5] [7] [9].
7. What the sources do not settle
Scientific nuance about intersex variations, the breadth of gender identity scholarship, and the detailed effects of these legal changes on services and individual rights are not exhaustively covered in the provided reporting. For example, available sources do not mention comprehensive scientific definitions that account for chromosomal, hormonal, developmental and gender‑identity complexity beyond noting typical biological characteristics [2].
8. Bottom line for readers
If you seek a concise working definition, reference sources show two prominent frames in 2025: mainstream dictionaries and encyclopedias define “woman” as an adult female human and note identity‑based usage [7] [2]; major legal and executive instruments in 2025 are explicitly defining “woman” by biological sex for statutory and administrative purposes [3] [5] [6]. Which definition applies will depend on the context — legal, social, medical or linguistic — and on the decision of courts, governments or institutions cited above [3] [5] [7].