matron

American  

[mey-truhn] / ˈmeɪ trən /

noun

matrons plural

1. a married woman, especially one who is mature and staid or dignified and has an established social position.

2. a woman who has charge of the domestic affairs of a hospital, prison, or other institution.

3. a woman serving as a guard, warden, or attendant for women or girls, as in a prison.

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matron British  

/ ˈmeɪtrən /

noun

1. a married woman regarded as staid or dignified, esp a middle-aged woman with children

2. a woman in charge of the domestic or medical arrangements in an institution, such as a boarding school

3. a wardress in a prison

4. Official name: nursing officer.  the former name for the administrative head of the nursing staff in a hospital

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• matronhood
  noun
• matronship
  noun
• matron-like
  adjective
• matronal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• matrons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of matron

1350–1400; Middle English matrone < Latin mātrōna a married woman, wife, derivative of māter mother

Explanation

A matron is a dignified, serious-minded married woman. The warden in a women's prison is also called a matron, which may lead you to conclude that the term is often not a glowing compliment. In a wedding, you can have a maid of honor (the bride’s unmarried attendant) or a matron of honor (one who’s married). Matron includes the Latin root mater, "mother" — as in “maternal,” “maternity,” and “matrimony.” You may imagine matrons as gray-haired and stern, like Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and to avoid negative stereotypes, the title matron, for the woman who runs a nursing home or boarding school, is often replaced with the gender-neutral “director.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

matron matrons

Seema cosplaying a garden society matron certainly isn’t the worst vision this show has served.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025

She arrived for breakfast looking elegant in a black-and-white caftan, the picture of an Upper West Side matron, a matron without a sizable body count.

From New York Times ● Nov. 29, 2024

The matron, Sian Townsend, went through her CV and application to see if there were other lies.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2024

She has been called the “godmother of stuntwomen” and “the grand matron of Hollywood stuntwomen,” working well past retirement age.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2024

“Three hundred,” bid a matron on an antique palanquin.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Behind her back, the other matrons make snarky remarks about her while sipping her tea; we learn all this because we share Millie’s point of view and the moms speak freely in front of her.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

But as so often happens, a tipple that initially made matrons clutch their pearls quickly became a regular feature on the society sideboard, and this John Collins-Tom Collins became a classic.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2023

“Pacific Heights matrons would bring their Dom Perignon.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2023

Band 7 includes ward sisters and junior matrons, earning between £41,659 and £47,672.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2022

Those long cold hallways echoed with footsteps and sobs; the matrons, their faces usually tight, mouths full of reprimands and clunkily adjusted names.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older

Related Words

• dowager
• housekeeper
• matriarch