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Synonyms

stewardess

American  
[stoo-er-dis, styoo-] / ˈstu ər dɪs, ˈstju- /

noun

  • stewardesses
    plural
  1. a woman flight attendant.

  2. a woman who attends to the comfort of passengers on a ship, train, or bus.


stewardess British  
/ ˈstjʊədɪs, ˌstjʊəˈdɛs /

noun

  1. a woman who performs a steward's job on an aircraft or ship

"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

Gender

See -ess.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of stewardess

1625–35 for earlier sense “female steward”; 1930–35 stewardess for def. 1; steward + -ess


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“But also, the stewardess is flying around so much that they are probably safe too.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Sophie Lainault, a 59 year-old former stewardess on Air France, sought to have her cancer recognised as an occupational disease, brought on by conditions at work.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

On an airplane, recently, she noticed that when the stewardess came around offering coffee and tea, a surprising number of adults opted for hot chocolate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025

David Zucker: My favorite has always been when the stewardess says, "I've never been so scared, and besides, I am 26 and I'm not married."

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2023

The stewardess reread the slip of paper in her hand, then eyed the big clock mounted by the arrival-and-departure board, as if she had someplace else to be.

From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Other stewardesses and I laugh about how lucky we were to be in the industry at that time.

From New York Times ● Feb. 19, 2024

In 1963, eight stewardesses held a news conference in New York’s Commodore Hotel.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2022

“Catch Me If You Can” leans hard into ’60s chic, with an ensemble of Pan Am airline stewardesses and a variety-show orchestra on stage.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2019

"But it was feared that if one of the stewardesses didn't stay aboard, he may not let the passengers off in Denver."

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2019

Ma's eyes close as the stewardesses busy themselves with preflight chores.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

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