lose one's virginity
Initial sexual experience
To lose one's virginity is to have sexual intercourse for the first time.
The phrase treats virginity as something possessed and then given up—typically through penetrative sex, though definitions vary.
She lost her virginity at seventeen.
The expression applies to any gender, though historically more weight was placed on female virginity.
- pubertySexual development stage
- hymenVaginal opening membrane
- rite of passageTransition-marking ceremony
- consentVoluntary agreement given
- age of consentMinimum years for lawful agreement
big moment · anticipation · threshold · intercourse · nervousness · autonomy · taboo · wedding night · defloration · pop the cherry · transformation · self-discovery · curiosity · birds and bees · choice · sexual education · stigma · cherry