spinster

American  

[spin-ster] / ˈspɪn stər /

noun

1. Disparaging and Offensive. a woman still unmarried beyond the usual age of marrying.

2. Chiefly Law. a woman who has never married.

3. a woman whose occupation is spinning.

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spinster British  

/ ˈspɪnstə /

noun

1. an unmarried woman regarded as being beyond the age of marriage

2. law (in legal documents) a woman who has never married Compare feme sole

3. (formerly) a woman who spins thread for her living

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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.

Example Sentences

This image may have been reinforced by a book Augustus wrote about her after her death that painted her as "this crazy spinster lady who lived in Paris".

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

Ruth Buzzi, the actor who became famous for playing a purse-wielding spinster on ‘Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,’ has died at her home in Texas.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2025

They're living in a rural village together, two spinster women.

From Salon • Oct. 22, 2023

She was a spinster teacher from school, one of the strict ones.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys