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
The man explained that he had a problem - he wants to leave his British wife to live with his mistress.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
“Rebecca was still mistress of Manderley,” the narrator worries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
“Well, and Wang Lung, the farmer, what?” retorted the gateman, who was polite to none except the rich friends of his master and mistress.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
Her 1988 film, “Elvira: Mistress of the Dark,” endures as a Halloween-season essential precisely because it understands the delicious overlap between fright and farce.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2025
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
But when this colossal chess game ends with the Mistress of Mayhem maiming her adversary, “The Art of Personal Chaos” transitions into something even more extraordinary.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
Disney’s first live-action Maleficent film, starring Jolie as the evil fairy who curses Sleeping Beauty, earned $759.9 million worldwide in its 2014 release, while “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” grossed $491.7 million globally five years later.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024
“Manners Mistress will ask what we’re doing out here.”
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
The result is that midlife crises have become a lot less wild: fewer mistresses and motorcycles and more medical visits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
A dramatisation of the long-running legal controversy with hundreds of sub-postmasters and mistresses wrongly accused of stealing from the Post Office.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2024
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
If I didn’t succumb to starvation, I would be here for a long time, with hateful mistresses and with Hattie ordering me about.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
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.
