lady
noun
a woman who is refined, polite, and well-spoken.
lady
American
[ley-dee]
/ ˈleɪ di /
noun
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ladies
plural
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a woman who is refined, polite, and well-spoken.
She may be poor and have little education, but she's a real lady.
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a woman of high social position or economic class.
She was born a lady and found it hard to adjust to her reduced circumstances.
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any woman; female (sometimes used in combination): There was a really nice saleslady at the counter who gave me some advice on what to buy.
The lady who answered the phone sounded a little stressed.
There was a really nice saleslady at the counter who gave me some advice on what to buy.
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(used in direct address: usually offensive in the singular).
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome.
Lady, out of my way, please.
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wife.
The ambassador and his lady arrived late.
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Slang. a female lover or steady companion.
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Lady, (in Great Britain) the proper title of any woman whose husband is higher in rank than baronet or knight, or who is the daughter of a nobleman not lower than an earl (although the title is given by courtesy also to the wives of baronets and knights).
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a woman who has proprietary rights or authority, as over a manor; female feudal superior.
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Lady, the Virgin Mary.
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a woman who is the object of chivalrous devotion.
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Usually Lady
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an attribute or abstraction personified as a woman; a designation of an allegorical figure as feminine: Lady Virtue.
Lady Fortune;
Lady Virtue.
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a title prefixed to the name of a goddess.
Lady Venus.
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lady
1
British
/ ˈleɪdɪ /
noun
Lady
2
British
/ ˈleɪdɪ /
noun
-
(in Britain) a title of honour borne by various classes of women of the peerage
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a term of address to holders of the title Lady, used esp by servants
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a title of the Virgin Mary
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archaic an allegorical prefix for the personifications of certain qualities
Lady Luck
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the term of address by which certain positions of respect are prefaced when held by women
Lady Chairman
Sensitive Note
In the meanings “refined, polite woman” and “woman of high social position,” the noun lady is the parallel of gentleman. As forms of address, both nouns are used in the plural ( Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your cooperation ), but only lady occurs in the singular. Except in chivalrous, literary, or similar contexts ( Lady, spurn me not ), this singular is now usually perceived as rude or at least insensitive: Where do you want the new air conditioner, lady? Although lady is still found in phrases or compounds referring to occupation or the like ( cleaning lady; saleslady ), this use seems to be diminishing. The use of lady as a modifier ( lady doctor; lady artist ) suggests that it is unusual to find a woman in the role specified. Many women are offended by this use, and it too is becoming less common. An approach that is increasingly followed is to avoid specifying the gender of the performer or practitioner. Person or a gender-neutral term can be substituted for lady, such as cleaner for cleaning lady and sales associate or salesclerk for saleslady. When circumstances make it relevant to specify gender, woman rather than lady is used, the parallel term being man: Men doctors outnumber women doctors on the hospital staff by more than three to one. The adjectives male and female can also be used: I feel more comfortable with a female gynecologist, but my sister prefers to see a male one. See also -person, -woman.
Synonym Usage
See woman.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of lady
First recorded before 900; Middle English ladi(e), earlier lavedi, Old English hlǣfdīge, hlǣfdige, perhaps originally meaning “loaf-kneader,” equivalent to hlāf “bread, loaf” ( see loaf 1) + -dīge, -dige, variant of dǣge “kneader” ( see dough; compare Old Norse deigja “maid”); see lord
Explanation
An old-fashioned or extremely polite word for "woman" is lady. A waiter who's trying to be charming might say, "Can I get anything else for you ladies?" There are instances when lady is the right word to use, but woman almost always sounds more modern and appropriate. Public speakers and announcers commonly use the phrase "ladies and gentlemen" to address a group of men and women, and if you're meeting a noblewoman, she may very well expect to be called "Lady Gertrude." Sometimes, ironically, lady is used in a rough, rude way: "Hey lady, out of my way!"
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 first lady doesn’t like these types of things,” someone close to the White House told Semafor this week.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
After more than two months away, the president left the airport alongside first lady Chantal Biya, waving from a car on its way to the presidential palace.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
But she makes such heavy weather of Hermione’s speeches denying her infidelity—bringing a fiery righteousness and much volume to her lengthy protestations—that Gertrude’s famous phrase, “The lady doth protest too much,” rattled through my head.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
It’s just a story about a lady who I think was harshly treated by him, badly treated by the Michael Douglas character.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
“You do that,” the lady said as she glanced at the noisy boys and girls.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Work on the ballroom began last year with the sudden demolition of the East Wing, which used to house the offices of the First Lady.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority shared on X that the group left Loisaba to travel to Ewasonyiro on a Eurocopter, EC130 B4, operated by the charter service company Lady Lori Helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
“We’ve seen it in Dalmatians when ‘101 Dalmatians’ came out, or retrievers when ‘Marley & Me’ came out, or French bulldogs when Lady Gaga got her French bulldog” in 2014, said Munden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
She isn't cavalier enough to jettison everything, though: Both 7 Rings and her Lady Gaga duet Rain On Me raise the roof.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Judging by the look on her face, Lady Constance remained unconvinced.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
The starkest contrast between two summertime TV hits about women navigating midlife’s challenges shows up in the way its leading ladies handle themselves in the kitchen.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
I have a photo of my mother at the Bowl on a chilly 1940s evening sporting, like other ladies around her in the inexpensive bleachers, her mink stole.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
"I just wanted to tell this story because, ladies and gentlemen of the American media, this is important," Rutte told journalists in the Oval Office as Trump looked on approvingly.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
First ladies, in particular, make this truth impossible to ignore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The seven ladies and one gentleman in a bow tie were huddled around a laptop, their horrified eyes glued to the screen.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
