first lady

American  

[furst leee-dee] / ˈfɜrst ˈlei di /

noun

first ladies plural

1. Often First Lady the wife of the U.S. president, or the wife of a current governor or mayor.

2. Often First Lady the wife of the head of any country.

   the First Lady of Brazil.

3. the foremost woman in any art, profession, or the like.

   Helen Hayes, the first lady of American theater.

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first lady British  

noun

1. (in the US) the wife or official hostess of a chief executive, esp of a state governor or a president

2. a woman considered to be at the top of her profession or art

   the first lady of jazz

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• first ladies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of first lady

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first lady

Graham even suggested previously that she would serve as his first lady if he were elected president.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

She did not want the job of first lady at all, she later admitted, and came in “kicking and screaming.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

Bezos and Sánchez have dined with the president and the first lady at Mar-a-Lago, and they attended the inauguration alongside other prominent technology CEOs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

She became first lady at 19, after her mother publicly broke with Fujimori, and trained in the United States as a business administrator.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

One of the phrases used to refer to Jerrie was "first lady astronaut."

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson