stewardess
Americannoun
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a woman flight attendant.
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a woman who attends to the comfort of passengers on a ship, train, or bus.
noun
Gender
See -ess.
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.
The star appeared as an air stewardess, twirling her way through baggage reclaim while shrugging off a bevy of useless men – a surgeon, a priest, a magician, an astronaut.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 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 head stewardess was actually having trouble breathing at some point,” another passenger, Greg Everett, said.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 7, 2023
We chanted our mother Cecile’s poem—softly, we thought—until the short brunette stewardess came over and cleared her throat.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
