Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

maid of honor

American  

noun

  1. an unmarried woman who is the chief attendant of a bride.

  2. an unmarried woman, usually of noble birth, attendant on a queen or princess.


Etymology

Origin of maid of honor

First recorded in 1580–90

Compare meaning

How does maid-of-honor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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 Knicks were up by about 10 points during the third quarter when the maid of honor showed Michael a livestream on her phone.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 12, 2026

Don’t let this maid of honor, or the stress of being a bridesmaid, rob the ceremony of its cheer.

From MarketWatch Dec. 8, 2025

Their two daughters, Nia and Rena Lovelis, both in their mid-20s, will serve as “best man” and maid of honor.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 28, 2025

Conrad was maid of honor at Cooper’s wedding, but, as Cooper confessed on a recent podcast, they aren’t friends anymore.

From Salon Jul. 7, 2025

Next, Mr. Cantor and I delivered the orchid corsages to the bride and her maid of honor.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training