part-time girlfriend
- noun
- /ˈpɑrtˌtaɪm ˈɡɜrlˌfaɪnd/
- Informal
:
novia ocasional
- They both agreed to keep things casual, so she became his part-time girlfriend.
Examples
-
With his demanding job, she often felt like a part-time girlfriend rather than a real partner.
-
He introduced her as his part-time girlfriend when people asked about their relationship.
-
All my part-time girlfriends...
Synonyms
40
3.7
A woman who is in a romantic relationship with a man
How Committed
∞
1.0
1
2.0
- Archaic
2
7.4
- Informal
- NSFW
36
6.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
part-time + girlfriend
The meaning is compositionally derived from 'part-time' (limited or occasional) modifying 'girlfriend' (romantic partner), so a learner who knows both words can infer a partner with limited availability or commitment. This adjective+noun pattern is common and has clear parallels in other languages, making the expression immediately interpretable at B1.
Etymology
Part-time girlfriend comes from the image of a part-time job and a girlfriend: like a worker who is only there some hours, she is only there some of the time as a partner. So, it means 'a woman who is a romantic partner only sometimes, with limited commitment'.