concubine
noun
ˈkän-, -kyü-\
Definition of concubine
: a woman with whom a man cohabits without being married: such as
a : one having a recognized social status in a household below that of a wife
Examples of concubine in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
According to former follower Niki Lopez, who later testified against York in court, children were forced to live separately from their parents and were beaten with wire hangers and broom sticks and sometimes starved by York’s concubines. — Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE.com, "The Story Behind a Black Supremacist Cult That Lived in Egyptian-Themed Compound in Rural Georgia," 6 July 2018 Historian Mario De Valdes y Cocom argues that Charlotte was directly descended from a black branch of the Portuguese royal family: Alfonso III and his concubine, Ouruana, a black Moor. — Deneen L. Brown, Washington Post, "Meghan Markle, Queen Charlotte and the wedding of Britain’s first mixed-race royal," 15 May 2018 The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu) Set in a dystopian future where people are unable to get pregnant, the few woman who can get pregnant are forced to become concubines and bear children for the upper class. — Noelle Devoe, Seventeen, "10 Best TV Shows of 2017," 15 Dec. 2017 Little girls were also purchased and used as household slaves until old enough to become prostitutes or concubines. — Gary Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, "Shame of the city: When Chinese sex slaves were trafficked in SF," 5 Jan. 2018 Her father, a former rebel commander, had eight wives and numerous concubines. — The Economist, "The perils of polygamyThe link between polygamy and war," 16 Dec. 2017 The Walking Dead, which in the last three years has killed off almost every person of color and turned the rest into concubines and cuckolds? — Jason Johnson, The Root, "In Star Wars: The Last Jedi, John Boyega, People of Color Get to Shine in a Galaxy Far, Far Away," 15 Dec. 2017 The cast also includes Geoffrey Barnes in the dual role of the Sheriff of Nottingham, Ernaisja Curry as a wily concubine, Samantha Russell as one of the Merry People, along with Brandon Burton and Greg Mallios as castle guards. — David Lyman, Cincinnati.com, "'Marian or the True Tale of Robin Hood' a feather in Know Theatre's cap," 29 July 2017 The patriarch of Comfort — church, state and pharmaceutical industry all at once — is a philosophical fellow with a droopy mustache and a retinue of pregnant concubines. — A. O. Scott, New York Times, "Review: Cannibalism, Hallucinogens and Keanu: ‘The Bad Batch’ Has It All," 22 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'concubine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for concubine
concubine
noun
English Language Learners Definition of concubine
: an unmarried woman who has sex with a man and lives with the man and his wife or wives
See the full definition for concubine in the English Language Learners Dictionary
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on concubine
What made you want to look up concubine? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz
-
- Which of the following Q-without-U words means the number five in cards or dice?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz
Words to improve your Scrabble game
Take the quiz -
Which Came First? Quiz
Do you know which word is older?
Take the quiz -
Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz -
Bee Cubed
Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.
Play the game
Share concubine
Resources for concubine