sheila means Australian slang for a woman or girl, now mostly used jokingly or nostalgically. It's mostly used in Australian informal speech. It's casual and generally safe with friends and online. It's standard online vocabulary; nothing inherently concerning about hearing it.
sheila
Australian slang for a woman or girl, now mostly used jokingly or nostalgically.
ˈʃiː.ləDocumented since 1820sSilenthistoricalCurrent2.2K viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026＋ Add a definition
Etymology timeline
Born ~1828 · 1 year of recorded use19th centurySee decade cohort →
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
Wild will be running from 7-30 May, or you can view the exhibition online now. buff.ly/eW6FQ5K 📷️ Night Life, by Sheila Anderson-Hardy
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BlueskyMay 2026
Murolo clamped his mouth shut, looking sulky, and sat down on his chair. Sheila E remained impassive, but snorted defiantly. Murolo coughed, composing himself, then began laying documents out on the table. One of the…
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Wikipedia: Sheila E.
Born and raised in Oakland, California, Sheila began her music career as a percussionist for the George Duke Band from 1976 to 1980.
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Wikipedia: Sheila E.
Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E.
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Wikipedia: Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (née Cherfilus; SHUR-fill-əss; born January 25, 1979) is an American politician and businesswoman who served as the U.
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Definitions
Australia
+512100%
#1·Apr 23, 2026AUS
Australian slang for a woman or girl, now mostly used jokingly or nostalgically. Has an older, friendly-uncle energy — more likely to come from a 60-year-old farmer than a 22-year-old at a Sydney cafe.
"Good on ya, sheila."
Origin: Likely from the Irish name Síle (pronounced "Sheela"), which came to Australia with 19th-century Irish immigrants.
For parents
sheila means Australian slang for a woman or girl, now mostly used jokingly or nostalgically. It's mostly used in Australian informal speech. It's casual and generally safe with friends and online. It's standard online vocabulary; nothing inherently concerning about hearing it.
For ESL learners
"sheila" is slang. It means: Australian slang for a woman or girl, now mostly used jokingly or nostalgically. Register: casual. Use it in: casual conversation and online posts. Avoid in: formal writing and professional emails.
Cluster: friend
Heard in the wild
“Wild will be running from 7-30 May, or you can view the exhibition online now. buff.ly/eW6FQ5K 📷️ Night Life, by Sheila Anderson-Hardy”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Murolo clamped his mouth shut, looking sulky, and sat down on his chair. Sheila E remained impassive, but snorted defiantly. Murolo coughed, composing himself, then began laying documents out on the table. One of the photographs made Fugo frown. He recognized the person in it.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Born and raised in Oakland, California, Sheila began her music career as a percussionist for the George Duke Band from 1976 to 1980.”
“Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E.”
“Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (née Cherfilus; SHUR-fill-əss; born January 25, 1979) is an American politician and businesswoman who served as the U.”
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Global
#2·May 3, 2026Global
Sheila (dog), a dog who received the Dickin Medal in 1945
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Global
#3·May 3, 2026Global
Sheela (1935 film) or Sheila, an Indian Punjabi-language film
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#4·May 3, 2026Global
Sheila, New Brunswick
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#5·May 3, 2026Global
Sheila (yacht), an Albert Strange canoe yawl built in 1905
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Global
#6·May 3, 2026Global
Empire Sheila, a ship in the service of the British Government
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Used in
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🇦🇺About Australian & NZ slang slang
Aussie and Kiwi vocabulary — bogan, daggy, brekkie, sheila, bach, jandals — the whole Antipodean lexicon, including outback dialect, surf and beach culture, and Sydney/Melbourne street slang.
See all Australian & NZ slang slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "sheila" (S)
sheeprunsheepshaggersheep stationshee sheesheet ironsheet-pan dinnersheila arcsheila checksheila codedsheila coresheila energysheila fail
Browse all slang words starting with S.
Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- sheila arc64%
The personal development journey of someone who fully grows into their sheila identity — moving from uncertain or performative femininity into a grounded, no-nonsense, genuinely capable version of themselves. A sheila arc is usually marked by a shift from people-pleasing to practical honesty, from apologising for taking up space to just being useful and unapologetic. Fans call it out in retrospectives: looking back at someone's posts from two years ago versus who they are now.
- sheila queen63%
The highest-tier sheila — a woman who's down-to-earth, direct, and genuinely good to be around, but who's also commanding enough that the whole room follows her lead without her demanding it. A sheila queen doesn't need to perform, doesn't need drama, doesn't need the spotlight — she just operates with a natural authority that makes everyone around her function better. Think the woman who organises the whole camping trip, keeps it fun, and still wins the argument about which trail to take.
- eshay58%
(AU, slang) A member of an Australian youth subculture favouring sportswear and electronic dance music, and commonly associated with criminal activity.
- girlina57%
(slang, endearing) A young woman.