grande dame
Americannoun
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a usually elderly woman of dignified or aristocratic bearing.
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a woman who is the doyenne of a specific field.
a grande dame of the American theater.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
The first pick here comes from a grande dame of Australian letters, although she would probably balk at the term.
From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2024
“She was the grande dame of letters in Los Angeles for decades,” said author, critic and Jewish Journal book editor Jonathan Kirsch.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2023
To be the grande dame of the beautiful, terrible past.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
