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!
Sometimes Mistress the dominant sexual partner, when female, in a BDSM relationship of unequal power.
none Mistress a term of address in former use and corresponding to Mrs., Miss, or Ms.
British. a female schoolteacher; schoolmistress.
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.
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.
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.
(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.
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.
Older Use. a woman who has the power of controlling or disposing of something at her own pleasure.
mistress of a great fortune.
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.
Archaic. sweetheart.
a woman who has a continuing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
a woman in a position of authority, ownership, or control, such as the head of a household
a woman or female personification having control over something specified
she was mistress of her own destiny
short for schoolmistress
an archaic or dialect word for sweetheart
See -ess .
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English maistresse, from Middle French, Old French, equivalent to maistre master + -esse -ess
A mistress is a female master — she's the one in control. The wardrobe mistress is in charge of costumes for a theater. At some schools, the head of the school is called the headmaster or headmistress. A woman who has an illicit affair — that is, a sexual relationship with someone she's not married to — is also called a mistress. It’s a somewhat old-fashioned word — it’s one-sided, sexist, and often suggests financial support in exchange for sexual favors. On the other hand, history offers some fascinating examples, such the mistress of King Louis XV of France, Madame de Pompadour, renowned for her intelligence and charm.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She studied the craft in college, performed on a USO tour in Vietnam and worked as a costume mistress.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
"You chose to take your final flight in my arms on the evening of May 14, to join your mistress who loved you so much," she said.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
“Rebecca was still mistress of Manderley,” the narrator worries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 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
I gape like a fish as Cook, as silent-footed as her mistress, materializes from behind the sheet I've just hung up.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Though Aleys initially finds the Beguines “wanton” due to their “strange rites,” including casual dress and meetings, their charismatic leader, Grand Mistress Sophia Vermeulen, persuades Aleys of the group’s higher purpose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
The squad, according to well-placed sources, ended up in trendy London nightspot Mistress of Mayfair to mark the club's Europa League final victory over Manchester United in Bilbao.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2025
After performing most of the first act as the raven-haired Mistress, Gaga ascends to a dance floor lit up like a chess board, competing against her opponent in a lethal, choreographed game.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
Despite the Mistress of Mayhem’s attempts to snuff it out from the world, beauty finds a way back, reborn even more exceptional because it has survived.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
At last the Mistress said, “All right. You have until the evening meal to make your decision.”
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
Descended from King Charles II and one of his mistresses, Richmond numbered among those aristocratic Whigs who dominated the British parliament in the 18th century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Under Holinshed's assertion that Richard the Lionheart was "not very notorious," Milton added: "the booke of Provenzall poets numbers him in / the catalogue, telling of his poetrie, and his Provenzal / mistresses."
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024
So there was this constant contradiction in their lives, but ultimately they were not the mistresses of their own destinies.
From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2024
Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office prosecuted hundreds of sub-postmasters and mistresses after faults with the Horizon accounting system made it look like money was missing.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2024
Masters and mistresses in degrees of wickedness, estates of disparate means and ambition.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
