Virginity is a phrase used to describe the state of never having engaged in sexual intercourse. In some contexts, these terms can apply to someone who has not engaged in sexual activities in general. Female virginity is closely related with personal or even family honor in many cultures. Traditionally in some cultures there has been a broader belief that the loss of virginity before marriage is a matter of deep shame. In some cultures, virginity testing is commonplace. This would considerably involve personal inspection by a female elder.

Conventionally in Western marriage ceremonies, a veil is taken as a symbol of the bride's virginity; the white dress is also commonly considered a sign of virginity. The extent to which this symbolism is accurate is unclear, given that some women may opt to wear white even if they are no longer virgins. This may even hold true for women who are assumed to be non-virgins but the practice is not universal.

Some historians and anthropologists note that many societies that place a high value on virginity before marriage, such as the United States before the sexual revolution, really have a large amount of premarital sexual activity that does not involve vaginal penetration, eg oral sex, anal sex and mutual masturbation.

With the standard usage of these terms (where the state of purity is thought to come from the lack of sexual intercourse), they have been more commonly applied to women than to men, both historically and in many present-day conditions. In fact, the terms traditionally were used to just describe a female unmarried person or a young girl. However, applying them to men as well has become common in present times, as the word "maid" lost currency in reference to men. During the Middle English period, the word "maid" is often referred to a person, whether male or female, who had never been married or sexually active.

The status of virginity is highly respected and valued in certain societies, particularly when there are religious views regarding sexual conduct before marriage. A woman who is a virgin can also sometimes be referred to as a maiden, although women who are just unmarried can be referred to as maidens as well.

Among human females, the hymen is a membrane, part of the vulva, which partially occludes the entrance to the vagina and which may be bodily torn when the woman first engages in sexual intercourse. Hymens vary in shape, thickness, and flexibility. The presence of an intact membrane is seen as physical evidence of virginity in the broader technical sense.

The presence of a hymen is a possible indication, but not a guarantee of virginity, given that it is anticipated that some degree of sexual activity may occur without rupturing the hymen, given that there may exist varying definitions as to the type and extent of sexual activity that is required to terminate the state of "virginity". This is further complicated by the availability of hymenorrhaphy operations to replace or repair the hymen.