bawd
Americannoun
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a woman who maintains a brothel; madam.
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a prostitute.
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a procuress.
noun
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a person who runs a brothel, esp a woman
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a prostitute
Etymology
Origin of bawd
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English bawde, noun use of Middle French baude, feminine of baud “jolly, dissolute,” from West Germanic; compare Old English bald bold
Vocabulary lists containing bawd
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.
“The impudence of a bawd is modesty compared with that of a convert,” said George Savile, the first marquess of Halifax.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
Words such as scold, shrew, termagent, witch, harlot, bawd, and tramp were all at one point in their histories terms for men; furthermore, the terms were usually neutral and sometimes even adulatory.
From Salon ● May 11, 2013
Best of all is the wonderful, pivotal scene in which Tilly Tremayne's well-judged, shrewd widow takes on Harriet Walter's glittering bawd at chess.
From The Guardian ● May 1, 2010
Or bawd bree, the rich hare broth of Scotland?
From Time Magazine Archive
I remember him now; a bawd, a cutpurse.
From King Henry V by Shakespeare, William
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.
