bridesmaid

American

[brahydz-meyd] / ˈbraɪdzˌmeɪd /

noun

a young woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony.
Informal. a person, group, etc., that is in a secondary position, never quite attains a goal, etc..

Bridesmaids for 12 seasons, the Eagles finally won the championship.

bridesmaid British

/ ˈbraɪdzˌmeɪd /

noun

a girl or young unmarried woman who attends a bride at her wedding Compare matron of honour maid of honour

"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

Etymology

Origin of bridesmaid

First recorded in 1545–55; bride ¹ + 's ¹ + maid

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.

Sarah said that for their wedding in September, her bridesmaids would all be visually impaired.

From BBC

She gave him money for a deposit, bought bridesmaid dresses for her daughters, a veil, "a few little trinket bits".

From BBC

After three successive second-placed finishes in the Premier League and a host of semi-final defeats, reaching a final offers Arsenal a chance to prove they are more than perennial bridesmaids.

From Barron's

Despite her reservations about Swan, when Jenni asked Shannon to be her bridesmaid, she agreed.

From BBC

Now I have a similar question about another bridesmaid.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023