actress
Americannoun
noun
-
a woman who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc
-
informal a woman who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others
Usage
Use of the word actress to refer to a female who acts is old-fashioned. The modern gender-neutral form is actor
Gender
What's the difference between actress and actor? See -ess.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of actress
Vocabulary lists containing actress
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:
The actress says getting in shape to play an FBI agent in her new show was a “full-time job.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Irish actress Brenda Fricker, who won an Oscar for her role in 1989 film My Left Foot and had well-loved parts in Home Alone 2 and TV's Casualty, has died at the age of 81.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Acclaimed actress Helen Mirren is giving buyers another chance to own a piece of her own illustrious Hollywood history—this time with a multimillion-dollar discount.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
The recent season of “The Gilded Age,” for one, merits more individual acting notices than the sole nomination for Carrie Coon in the lead actress race.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
It was called Little Friend and starred a newcomer kid actress named Nova Pilbeam.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
"I always sort of go back to classic actresses in the way that they could sort of toe a line between extreme femininity and just rock hard will and grit," she said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
And if we deprive gay guys of their annual chance to make Mother’s Day about their personal taste in actresses, God help us all.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
The two actresses make for a smashing comic duo in this production of the Noël Coward play about two women eager to rekindle a romance with the same French lothario.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
In a pre-event interview, the actresses discussed the legacy of the series, how it impacted their personal lives and how they really felt about the “Charlie’s Angels” movies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
I’m not lying when I say that Hollywood actresses would kill for my mother’s smile.
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
