First Lady

noun

variants or first lady

plural First Ladies or first ladies

1

: the wife or female partner of the chief executive of a country or jurisdiction

It is a reminder of just how peculiar the role of First Lady is in American public life. She has a job with no salary, a platform with no power, an East Wing filled with staff but no budget.

—Jonathan Van Meter

As a supermodel, singer-songwriter, and former first lady of France, no one has had a career quite like Carla Bruni. Since her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, left office in 2012, Bruni has focused on her music.

—Janelle Okwodu

also : someone who is not the wife or female partner of a chief executive but who fulfills the public duties of a First Lady

Unique among First Ladies, Harriet Lane acted as hostess for the only President who never married: James Buchanan, her favorite uncle and her guardian after she was orphaned at the age of eleven.

—Allida Black

2

: the leading woman of an art or profession

Back before Mobb Deep, before the whole Juice Crew, the first MC to blow up big out of the Bridge was hip hop's universally recognized First Lady, Roxanne Shanté.

—Sacha Jenkins

Carolyn Wells is the first lady of barbecue—alongside her late husband Gary Wells and friend Rick Welch, the three founded the Kansas City Barbeque Society in 1986.

—Damian Dominguez

Examples of First Lady in a Sentence

The President and the First Lady attended the concert.

the first lady of American dance

Recent Examples on the Web

Anderson, meanwhile, has honed her craft on the big and small screens, starring in projects like The Fall, The First Lady and Scoop. —Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 7 June 2024

The president’s son, 54, sat stoic during the airing of his words while First Lady Jill Biden sat in the front row beside her daughter, Ashley, and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, along with a coterie of relatives and supporters, including L.A. lawyer Kevin Morris. —Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2024

Marian Robinson, former First Lady Michelle Obama's mother, died on Friday at the age of 86, according to the family. —Mary Bruce, ABC News, 31 May 2024

Our forever First Lady was very close to her mother and often attributed her success to her. —Dominique Fluker, Essence, 31 May 2024

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and First Lady Tshepo Motsepe on Wednesday morning cast their votes at Hitekani Primary School in Soweto, Johannesburg. —Emma Ogao, ABC News, 29 May 2024

Grisham appeared at the end of an episode led by an interview with First Lady Jill Biden. —EW.com, 29 May 2024

On Thursday, May 23, luminaries from the world of politics, cultures and the arts arrived for an official State Dinner at the residence of President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. —Lawrence Yee, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024

Public outcry over the ordeal reached First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who helped arrange for Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday in front of 75,000 people. —Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 23 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

first lady

noun

often capitalized F&L

: the wife, female partner, or hostess of the chief executive of a country or jurisdiction