bridesmaid
Americannoun
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a young woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony.
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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.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bridesmaid
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:
It was a powerful moment, and all around me even the men were bawling like a bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Lady Pamela Hicks, who was a bridesmaid for Queen Elizabeth II, has died at the age of 97, her daughter has said.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
DeSorbo was a bridesmaid at Batula’s wedding and vocal from the get-go about her disdain for Cooke.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Fighting back tears as she placed flowers at the scene on Monday, Joanne said Sarah – who was a bridesmaid at her wedding – "left a mark with absolutely everyone she met".
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
"Have another scone, my dear. I expect your Daisy shall be a bridesmaid."
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
"All the other bridesmaids had endless rehearsals," she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
“We’re pulling the wine pinkish red color out of the bridesmaids dresses into my tie, and we’re incorporating it into the napkins.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Sarah said that for their wedding in September, her bridesmaids would all be visually impaired.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
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 ● Feb. 3, 2026
For the wedding, Princesse and I were bridesmaids and wore gorgeous rose-colored gowns.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
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.
