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Synonyms

grande dame

American  
[gran dam, deym, grahnd dam] / ˈgræn ˈdæm, ˈdeɪm, grɑ̃d ˈdam /

noun

plural

grandes dames

  1. a usually elderly woman of dignified or aristocratic bearing.

  2. a woman who is the doyenne of a specific field.

    a grande dame of the American theater.
grande dame British  
/ ɡrɑ̃d dam /

noun

  1. a woman regarded as the most experienced, prominent, or venerable member of her profession, etc

    the grande dame of fashion
"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 grande dame

1735–45; < French: literally, great lady

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.

Today’s glass and steel tower over the bones of what was once the grande dame of colonial luxury, the Hong Kong Hotel.

From Salon • Jul. 12, 2025

But now the grande dame has decided to hang up her ballet shoes after a 72 year career.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2025

You may know the name Dale Chihuly, but have you heard of Ginny Ruffner, the grande dame of Seattle glass art?

From Seattle Times • Sep. 19, 2023

Mrs. Bohm created a vast body of photographs, in the process becoming a grande dame of the art form, before she died at 98 on March 15 at a care facility in Northwest London.

From New York Times • May 4, 2023

They were boarding a train for Oxford to meet Dorothy Hodgkin, the grande dame of crystallography.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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.