dame
noun
(in Britain)
dame
American
[deym]
/ deɪm /
noun
dames
plural
-
(initial capital letter) (in Britain)
-
the official title of a female member of the Order of the British Empire, equivalent to that of a knight.
-
the official title of the wife of a knight or baronet.
-
-
(formerly) a form of address to any woman of rank or authority.
-
a matronly woman of advanced age; matron.
-
Slang: Sometimes Offensive. a term used to refer to a woman.
Some dame cut me off and almost caused an accident.
-
Ecclesiastical. a title of a nun in certain orders.
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a mistress of a dame-school.
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Archaic. the mistress of a household.
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Archaic. a woman of rank or authority, especially a female ruler.
dame
1
British
/ deɪm /
noun
-
(formerly) a woman of rank or dignity; lady
-
a nun who has taken the vows of her order, esp a Benedictine
-
archaic a matronly or elderly woman
-
slang a woman
-
Also called: pantomime dame. the role of a comic old woman in a pantomime, usually played by a man
Dame
2
British
/ deɪm /
noun
-
the title of a woman who has been awarded the Order of the British Empire or any of certain other orders of chivalry
-
the legal title of the wife or widow of a knight or baronet, placed before her name Compare Lady
Dame Judith
Sensitive Note
Dame is sometimes perceived as insulting when used to refer generally to a woman, unless it is a woman of rank or advanced age.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dame
1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Latin domina, feminine of dominus lord, master
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 “grand dame diva of culture, divahood and porcine glamour” Miss Piggy, was honored at the show, where she showed up, naturally, in a pink dress and feather boa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Labour MP Jessica Morden is made a dame for her political service and former Tory MP Greg Hands is knighted for the same reason.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
A true Welsh icon, Bassey was made a dame in 1999 for her services to entertainment.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2026
Twila is, in Hollywood parlance, a “firecracker” — you know, the tough-talking dame who inevitably nurses a wounded heart.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026
The old dame who had been their nurse fetched dry jerkins out of a press, and scolded them for retching their deaths, and denounced Sir Ector for keeping on so long.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
To focus on baseball, Roch gave up a scholarship offer to play quarterback at Notre Dame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
“Excluding candidates who engage in deception in their efforts to appear on the ballot is hardly new,” Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller recently wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
"Of all the projects I've been able to put together, this is undoubtedly the most complex," said Canitrot, who previously staged shows at France's Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
In a formal apology, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally said victims experienced "pain and trauma and suffering and fear when you should have received care and compassion".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Be good or the Grande Dame will get you.”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
West, one of the grande dames of the movement, got her start at Seattle alt-weekly the Stranger and spent years excoriating fatphobia, online misogyny, and male entitlement for the ur-millennial-feminist site Jezebel.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026
Mattie Ross is one of the toughest dames in American literature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
It's that time of year again when millions of people head to pantomimes to experience the bright lights, cheesy jokes and glamorous dames.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
Movies: Olivier’s widow could be playing grand dames on stage, but she likes the travel and money from matriarchal characters in films.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025
That when dames had dandruff, it was often just flakes from their hairspray.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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.
