A female connector is a connector attached to a wire, cable, or piece of hardware, having one or more recessed holes with electrical terminals inside, and constructed in such a way that a plug with exposed conductors ( male connector ) can be inserted snugly into it to ensure a reliable physical and electrical connection . A female connector is also known as a jack, outlet, or receptacle. This type of connector can be recognized by the fact that, when it is disconnected or removed, the electrical conductors are not directly exposed, and therefore are not likely to make accidental contact with external objects or conductors.

A female connector type with holes instead of pins. As can be seen in the example picture to the right, the power cord connector on the left-side is a female connector, and the right-side that connects to the wall socket is a male connector.

The most common female connector is a two- or three-prong electrical outlet, also known as a wall outlet. Other often-encountered examples include telephone jacks , the jacks for headsets, the chassis connectors for coaxial cable, and some D-shell connectors for computer serial and parallel port s.

A gender changer is a type of hardware device that converts a female connector to male.