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

The message was in reference to a video that was posted on the president’s social media website depicting former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. —Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026

Eventually Trump himself entered the hall—now as quiet as a library—and began making his way very slowly down the red carpet with the First Lady, stopping every few steps to take a question. —Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026

Lyons will play a former spy lured out of retirement, Morrison will play the First Lady, and Moyer will play a top hitman. —Peter White, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026

Former First Lady Laura Bush, who later became known as a school reading and literacy champion, was Dawson’s librarian in the 1970s. —Keri Heath, Austin American Statesman, 23 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for First Lady

• arcady
• landlady
• cady
• shady
• zaidi

Kids Definition

first lady

noun

often capitalized F&L

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