mistress

American  

[mis-tris] / ˈmɪs trɪs /

noun

1. a woman who, most often secretly, has an ongoing sexual relationship with, and sometimes is financially supported by, someone who is openly married to, engaged to, or living with another person.

   If Mr. G thinks his wife doesn’t know he has a mistress, he’s dead wrong—just ask Mrs. G’s private investigator!

2. Sometimes Mistress the dominant sexual partner, when female, in a BDSM relationship of unequal power.

3. none Mistress a term of address in former use and corresponding to Mrs., Miss, or Ms.

4. British. a female schoolteacher; schoolmistress.

5. Sometimes Mistress something regarded as feminine that has control or supremacy.

   Because each enjoyed an era of naval superiority, both Venice and Britain were once known as the Mistress of the Seas.

6. Older Use. a woman who has authority, control, or power, especially the female head of a household, institution, or other establishment.

   I’m sorry, the mistress of the house is not presently available.

7. Older Use. a woman employing, or in authority over, servants or attendants.

   The maid laid out two outfits every morning so that her mistress might choose the one that best suited her mood.

8. (especially in historical use) a female owner of enslaved people, in the institution of chattel slavery; a female slaveholder.

   Her father’s last will and testament made her mistress of his slaves after his death in 1837.

9. Older Use. a female owner of a pet or other animal.

   That horse can only be handled by his mistress and a few of the grooms.

10. Older Use. a woman who has the power of controlling or disposing of something at her own pleasure.

    mistress of a great fortune.

11. Obsolete. a woman who is skilled in something; a female master of an occupation or art.

    She and her sister are both mistresses of the harpsichord.

12. Archaic. sweetheart.

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mistress ¹ British  

/ ˈmɪstrɪs /

noun

1. a woman who has a continuing extramarital sexual relationship with a man

2. a woman in a position of authority, ownership, or control, such as the head of a household

3. a woman or female personification having control over something specified

   she was mistress of her own destiny

4. short for schoolmistress

5. an archaic or dialect word for sweetheart

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Mistress ² British  

/ ˈmɪstrɪs /

noun

1. an archaic or dialect title equivalent to Mrs

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Gender

See -ess .

Other Word Forms

• mistress-ship noun
• mistressed adjective

Etymology

Origin of mistress

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English maistresse, from Middle French, Old French, equivalent to maistre master + -esse -ess

Example Sentences

“Rebecca was still mistress of Manderley,” the narrator worries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

After two-and-a-half hours, the show ends with Gaga announcing she has defeated the "mistress of mayhem".

From BBC • Sep. 30, 2025

At least Harold Macmillan understood, to use the parlance of his time, that history was a cruel mistress and was sure to leave him behind.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2025

A cartoon by Isaac Cruikshank, Frailties of Fashion, shows just such a scene, with the prince arm in arm with his long-term mistress, Mrs. Fitzherbert, and the diminutive Duchess of York; both women are padded.

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025

Mordred said, in his equivocal musical voice, that he could understand a fishwife, but not a fish mistress.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• girlfriend
• paramour
• sweetheart