lady
a woman who is refined, polite, and well-spoken: She may be poor and have little education, but she's a real lady.
a woman of high social position or economic class: She was born a lady and found it hard to adjust to her reduced circumstances.
any woman; female (sometimes used in combination): The lady who answered the phone sounded a little stressed.There was a really nice saleslady at the counter who gave me some advice on what to buy.
(used in direct address: usually offensive in the singular): Ladies and gentlemen, welcome.Lady, out of my way, please.
wife: The ambassador and his lady arrived late.
Slang. a female lover or steady companion.
Lady, (in Great Britain) the proper title of any woman whose husband is higher in rank than baronet or knight, or who is the daughter of a nobleman not lower than an earl (although the title is given by courtesy also to the wives of baronets and knights).
a woman who has proprietary rights or authority, as over a manor; female feudal superior.: Compare lord (def. 4).
Lady, the Virgin Mary.
a woman who is the object of chivalrous devotion.
Usually Lady .
an attribute or abstraction personified as a woman; a designation of an allegorical figure as feminine: Lady Fortune;Lady Virtue.
a title prefixed to the name of a goddess: Lady Venus.
Origin of lady
1usage note For lady
An approach that is increasingly followed is to avoid specifying the gender of the performer or practitioner. Person or a gender-neutral term can be substituted for lady, such as cleaner for cleaning lady and sales associate or salesclerk for saleslady. When circumstances make it relevant to specify gender, woman rather than lady is used, the parallel term being man: Men doctors outnumber women doctors on the hospital staff by more than three to one. The adjectives male and female can also be used: I feel more comfortable with a female gynecologist, but my sister prefers to see a male one. See also -person, -woman.
synonym study For lady
Other words from lady
- la·dy·hood, noun
- la·dy·ish, adjective
- la·dy·ish·ly, adverb
- la·dy·ish·ness, noun
- la·dy·less, adjective
Words that may be confused with lady
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use lady in a sentence
She leaned back in her chair and put on some of the gracefully imperious airs of regnant American young-ladyhood.
The Squirrel-Cage | Dorothy CanfieldWhen she grew to young ladyhood she often left Green Valley for wonderful trips to the ends of the world.
Green Valley | Katharine ReynoldsJoyselle flushed, and she knew his flush had to do only with his father's lapse of memory, not his reference to her ladyhood.
The Halo | Bettina von HuttenI am happy to note that the girl of the rising generation is learning that to succumb to weakness is not a sign of ladyhood.
The Secret of a Happy Home (1896) | Marion HarlandNo true lady will so far forget her innate ladyhood as to be guilty of this rudeness.
The Secret of a Happy Home (1896) | Marion Harland
British Dictionary definitions for lady (1 of 2)
/ (ˈleɪdɪ) /
a woman regarded as having the characteristics of a good family and high social position
a polite name for a woman
(as modifier): a lady doctor
an informal name for wife
lady of the house the female head of the household
history a woman with proprietary rights and authority, as over a manor: Compare lord (def. 3)
Origin of lady
1British Dictionary definitions for Lady (2 of 2)
/ (ˈleɪdɪ) /
(in Britain) a title of honour borne by various classes of women of the peerage
my lady a term of address to holders of the title Lady, used esp by servants
Our Lady a title of the Virgin Mary
archaic an allegorical prefix for the personifications of certain qualities: Lady Luck
mainly British the term of address by which certain positions of respect are prefaced when held by women: Lady Chairman
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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