actress

noun

ac·​tress ˈak-trəs How to pronounce actress (audio)
Synonyms of actressnext
: a woman or girl who is an actor
actressy adjective

Examples of actress in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The win shakes up the Oscars race for supporting actress, which prior to Madigan’s Actor Award victory seemed to be in Taylor’s favor. Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026 Sinners actress Jayme Lawson candidly shared her thoughts on last weekend’s incident at the BAFTA Awards while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter on the NAACP Image Awards red carpet last night. Brande Victorian, HollywoodReporter, 1 Mar. 2026 Sources close to the actress have previously said that no one close to her was a viable match. Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026 Gerwig spoke about pitching Pascal to allow the actress to direct Little Women. Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 28 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for actress

Word History

Etymology

actor + -ess

First Known Use

1586, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of actress was in 1586

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Actress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/actress. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

actress

noun
ac·​tress ˈak-trəs How to pronounce actress (audio)
: a woman or girl who acts especially in a play or movie or on television

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