lioness
Americannoun
-
lionesses
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lioness
1250–1300; Middle English liones, leonesse < Middle French lion ( n ) esse. See lion, -ess
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:
Mr. Schaller spent three years studying lions in Africa, once crawling through thorny thickets to count cubs a lioness had hidden there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
In Farsi, this term honors women who are strong, who stand up for their rights and who are trailblazers—courageous, brave and resilient, much like a lioness.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2024
Constance Marten has been described in court as a "lioness" who loved her "cubs".
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2024
Tea, 52, is a Massachusetts-to-San Francisco-to-Los Angeles transplant — and the literary lioness who created, among many other cultural lightning rods, the notorious Drag Queen Story Hour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2023
And behind the cabin was his lioness, feasting on a freshly caught antelope!
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
He learned that after a kill, lionesses gorge yet seldom bring food to their young.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Because Mufasa, as an unwelcome “stray,” was forced to be raised by the pride’s lionesses, he grew close to Taka’s mother and accompanied her while hunting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2024
They are the sentinels of a populations health, specifically the number of animals in a group, and more importantly the ratio of lionesses to lions.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 21, 2023
We drove in search of lions - tracking a special collar worn by one of the lionesses who, like me, is called Lucy.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2022
No ordinary clasp would suffice for such a weight, so the greatcloak was held in place by a matched pair of miniature lionesses crouching on his shoulders, as if poised to spring.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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