debutante

noun deb·u·tante \ ˈde-byu̇-ˌtänt \

|Updated on: 2 Jul 2018

Definition of debutante

: one making a debut (see ¹debut) : debutant; especially : a young woman making her formal entrance into society

See debutante defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of debutante from the Web

Technically, debutantes choose an escort who is not their beau.

— catherine bigelow, SFChronicle.com, "A bumper crop of 27 debutantes make SF debut," 25 June 2018
Could the signature accessory of Barbara Bush (though hers were fake) and generations of debutantes be the next big thing in bling?

— rachel hahn, Vogue, "Are Pearls the New Diamonds? Young Thug Makes the Case," 19 June 2018
Anya Taylor-Joy plays Lily, a teenage Connecticut debutante who lives with her mother and callous stepdad, Mark, in a palatial suburban estate.

— michael heaton, cleveland.com, "'Thoroughbreds' is a hard-charging dark comedy (review)," 3 Jan. 2018
Anne Eisenhower’s feisty granddaughter, Camila Mendoza Echavarria, was a debutante representing the United States at the recent 2016 International Debutante Ball.

— bob morris, Town & Country, "The Curious Plight of the Modern Debutante," 28 Nov. 2017
Iceland and Panama are World Cup debutantes, Peru is back for the first time since 1982, and Egypt ends an absence dating to 1990.

— ronald blum, Fox News, "Germany looks to become 1st repeat Cup champ in half-century," 12 June 2018
Iceland and Panama are World Cup debutantes, Peru is back for the first time since 1982, and Egypt ends an absence dating to 1990.

— Washington Post, "Germany looks to become 1st repeat Cup champ in half-century," 12 June 2018
The skinny: With the exception of World Cup debutantes Iceland and Panama, there is no team with as little experience on soccer’s biggest stage as Peru.

— kevin baxter, latimes.com, "World Cup Group C capsules," 7 June 2018
The elaborate invitation-only event today honors young women — typically college sophomores — for performing hundreds of hours of community service and, as in days of old, formally ushers debutantes into society.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "Two jeweled tiaras from Missouri's Veiled Prophet debutante ball stolen from museum | The Kansas City Star," 18 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'debutante.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.