spinster
Americannoun
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Disparaging and Offensive. a woman still unmarried beyond the usual age of marrying.
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Chiefly Law. a woman who has never married.
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a woman whose occupation is spinning.
noun
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an unmarried woman regarded as being beyond the age of marriage
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law (in legal documents) a woman who has never married Compare feme sole
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(formerly) a woman who spins thread for her living
Sensitive Note
The meaning “a woman beyond the usual marriageable age” is used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting. It implies negative qualities such as being fussy or undesirable. See also old maid.
Other Word Forms
- spinsterhood noun
- spinsterish adjective
- spinsterishly adverb
- spinsterlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of spinster
1325–75; Middle English spinnestere a woman who spins. See spin, -ster
Explanation
A spinster is an older, unmarried woman. Even if you're in awe of your Aunt Sally's glamorous, single life, your grandmother might dismiss her as a spinster. Spinster originally meant "a spinner of thread," and as that was a job typically done by unmarried women, it came to have the meaning — even in legal documents — of "single woman." Another term for spinster is the equally old-fashioned sounding old maid. Either way, it means a woman who never got married. Spinster is not a word you should call anyone: it reduces single women to one detail about their lives.
Vocabulary lists containing spinster
The Help
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Between Shades of Gray
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The Distance Between Us
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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.
Regarded in her time as "a reclusive spinster that never left her house", she was determined to be free to pursue a life of artistic expression.
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026
“I’m a geriatric pregnant spinster who puts crystals in her bra,” Helen says in an unusual moment of self-awareness.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
Buzzi herself told The Times in 2011 about working with John Wayne on the variety show, including in one sketch where Gladys wasn’t a spinster.
From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2025
"Why is spinster somehow negative? I really think it's great."
From Salon • Mar. 4, 2023
It was the nasal voice of Miss Grybas, the spinster teacher from school.
From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys
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.
