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

In 2008, Michelle Obama made history, becoming the first African American First Lady of the United States. —Shannon Carlin, TIME, 15 July 2024

Over the weekend, members of the former president’s family, including former First Lady Melania Trump, condemned the shooting. —Max Hauptman, USA TODAY, 15 July 2024

Absent from the list: Former First Lady Melania Trump, who spoke in 2016 and 2020. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 15 July 2024

That may be particularly true for Jill Biden, said Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for the First Lady. —Erin Doherty, Axios, 13 July 2024

Notably missing from the RNC speaker list is former First Lady Melania Trump, as well as Trump’s daughter and former White House advisor Ivanka Trump. —Rebecca Picciotto, CNBC, 13 July 2024

Attending his funeral were Deneuve, former First Lady Bernadette Chirac, former Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi, French President Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni. —Jordan Riefe, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 July 2024

The mother-son duo attended a state dinner hosted by President Joe Biden in honor of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee. Maddox and his brother Pax both participated in the production of Maria, the upcoming biopic of opera legend Maria Callas starring Jolie. —Emma Aerin Becker, Peoplemag, 12 July 2024

Both former First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris are polling ahead of President Joe Biden in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up against former President Donald Trump after a shaky presidential debate at the CNN studio in Atlanta last week. —Margie Cullen, USA TODAY, 5 July 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