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• dame
  dame

  noun

  (in Britain)
• Dame
  Dame

  noun

  the title of a woman who has been awarded the Order of the British Empire or any of certain other orders of chivalry

dame

American  

[daym] / deɪm /

noun

• dames
  plural

1. (initial capital letter) (in Britain)

   1. the official title of a female member of the Order of the British Empire, equivalent to that of a knight.

   2. the official title of the wife of a knight or baronet.

2. (formerly) a form of address to any woman of rank or authority.

3. a matronly woman of advanced age; matron.

4. Slang: Sometimes Offensive. a term used to refer to a woman.

   Some dame cut me off and almost caused an accident.

5. Ecclesiastical. a title of a nun in certain orders.

6. a mistress of a dame-school.

7. Archaic. the mistress of a household.

8. Archaic. a woman of rank or authority, especially a female ruler.

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dame ¹ British  

/ deɪm /

noun

1. (formerly) a woman of rank or dignity; lady

2. a nun who has taken the vows of her order, esp a Benedictine

3. archaic a matronly or elderly woman

4. slang a woman

5. Also called: pantomime dame. the role of a comic old woman in a pantomime, usually played by a man

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Dame ² British  

/ deɪm /

noun

1. the title of a woman who has been awarded the Order of the British Empire or any of certain other orders of chivalry

2. the legal title of the wife or widow of a knight or baronet, placed before her name Compare Lady

   Dame Judith

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Sensitive Note

Dame is sometimes perceived as insulting when used to refer generally to a woman, unless it is a woman of rank or advanced age.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dames
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dame

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Latin domina, feminine of dominus lord, master

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dame Dame dames

She was made a dame in 2015 for her services to children and older people.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

The “grand dame diva of culture, divahood and porcine glamour” Miss Piggy, was honored at the show, where she showed up, naturally, in a pink dress and feather boa.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

She was made a dame in 2009, and has also acted as a senior adviser to the British government and the United Nations on artificial intelligence.

From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026

Twila is, in Hollywood parlance, a “firecracker” — you know, the tough-talking dame who inevitably nurses a wounded heart.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026

Two small heads bent earnestly over each of the three dog-eared primers which were all the dame school could boast.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

Davina McCall wrote on Instagram that Dame Esther had "made the world a better place, and inspired so many of us to do better and live life to its fullest."

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

BBC director general Matt Brittin also paid tribute to Dame Esther, describing her as a "legend of British broadcasting" whose contribution to public life was "immeasurable".

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Anton Du Beke, Dame Esther's partner on Strictly Come Dancing, shared a photo of the pair dancing together in the 2004 series, writing that the two had "remained firm friends" ever since.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Friel said: "The legacy that Dame Esther created when she created Childline is something quite incredible. She changed how society looked upon children."

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The Dame said darkly: “Handsome is as handsome does.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

West, one of the grande dames of the movement, got her start at Seattle alt-weekly the Stranger and spent years excoriating fatphobia, online misogyny, and male entitlement for the ur-millennial-feminist site Jezebel.

From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026

Until her death last year, Helen Vendler was one of the grandes dames of American letters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

The grandes dames of British theatre reminisced about their lives and careers, with searing honesty and humility.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2025

Rowlands embodied tough cookies, glamour girls and grandes dames, with suburban housewives in between.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2024

That when dames had dandruff, it was often just flakes from their hairspray.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen