Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

bag lady

noun

Definition of bag lady

: a homeless woman who roams the streets of a city carrying her possessions in shopping bags

See bag lady defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of bag lady

1972

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year
NEW! Time Traveler

BAG LADY Defined for English Language Learners

bag lady

noun

Definition of bag lady for English Language Learners

  • : a homeless woman who walks around the streets of a city carrying her possessions in a bag

Learn More about bag lady

  1. See words that rhyme with bag lady

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up bag lady? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

satiety

play

fullness to the point of excess

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. hogwash 'nonsense, balderdash'

  2. probity 'adherence to the highest principles and ideals'

  3. sequacious 'intellectually servile'

  4. inadmissible 'not capable of being allowed'

  5. oligarch, pejorative 'a member a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes'

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

bag lady

Test Your Vocabulary

Difficult Spelling Words Quiz

  • alphabet-pasta-spelling-help
  • Which is the correct spelling?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Syn City

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games