madame
Americannoun
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a French title of respect equivalent to “Mrs.”, used alone or prefixed to a woman's married name or title.
Madame Curie.
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(in English) a title of respect used in speaking to or of an older woman, especially one of distinction, who is not of American or British origin. Mme.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of madame
From French, dating back to 1590–1600; see origin at madam
Explanation
Madame is the way to address a French woman, as in Madame Curie. It’s officially for married women, like Mrs. in English, but it’s often used for any exotic woman, married and French or not. The title madame is sometimes used interchangeably with madam or ma'am, although usually the first one is intended for French-speakers. In Gustave Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary, the main character, Emma Bovary, is a married woman. Madame was originally used only to refer to or address women of high rank or royalty. In French, madame literally means "my lady."
Vocabulary lists containing madame
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:
To mix it up, served with a fried egg on top and - voila - you have a croque madame.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
In addition to her pizza debut, Wood’s bakery will add French-inspired sandwiches, from a croque madame to a butter-and-ham baguette.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 6, 2024
Mr. Cole had at first tried out a number of stage names, from Sally Stanford, after the San Francisco madame who later became the mayor of Sausalito, to just plain Walter.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
And so, I filmed the making of a croque madame — delicious, cheesy, and with a bright, wiggly egg on top, I figured it was bound to go viral.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2021
The old madame did not venture to say she was afraid they would be neglected during L6once’s absence; she hardly ventured to think so.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
So I spent my summer there looking for burgers, and not laughing, and eating these croque madames that tasted like soot, because I kept going to a workman’s cafe where everyone smoked, especially the cook.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2012
Many arts of indirection were employed by eligible madames, monsieurs, and visiting notables of both sexes to remove that invisible yet formidable barrier of reserve.
From Oswald Langdon or, Pierre and Paul Lanier. A Romance of 1894-1898 by Lee, Carson Jay
It did not fit any of the madames who were in the restaurant at the time.
From Commercialized Prostitution in New York City by Kneeland, George Jackson
The following is a picture of things as they were:—"The madames on board, occupy the few days which elapse before landing in preparing the most dazzling effect, on their descent upon the Australian shore."
From The History of Tasmania , Volume II by West, John
Oh Lud," said Harry, "here's more fair madames in the mud.
From The Highwayman by Bailey, H. C. (Henry Christopher)
Ladies and gentlemen, messieurs et mesdames, le cheeseburger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024
But from a Scottish perspective this now has the appearance of a bizarre game of high stakes poker between mesdames May and Sturgeon.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 18, 2017
And Paul H. Canada, the costume designer, wickedly dresses Molière’s mesdames in cartoon couture.
From New York Times ● Jul. 4, 2014
Je vous prie d'agréer, mesdames, messieurs, l'expression de mes sentiments distingués", while across the Channel we'll be concluding our correspondence with "Laters, yeah?
From The Guardian ● Jul. 17, 2013
Even so, the social columnists still did not write about his wife’s dresses when he and she attended the opera, the way they described the nightly couture of mesdames Palmer, Pullman, and Armour.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
