grande dame

noun

ˈgrän-ˈdäm 

plural grandes dames ˈgrän-ˈdäm(z)  also grande dames ˈgrän-ˈdäm(z) 

1

: a usually elderly woman of great prestige or ability

2

: granddaddy sense 2

Synonyms

• dowager
• matron

Examples of grande dame in a Sentence

the city's grandes dames still hold considerable sway in its cultural life

Recent Examples on the Web

The Hotels The couple is said to be staying at the Aman, on the Grand Canal, the grande dame property where George and Amal Clooney were married, and rooms range from more than $3,000 to $32,000 nightly. —Beth Landman, HollywoodReporter, 21 June 2025

LuPone is Broadway’s reigning grande dame, with a big voice and an even bigger mouth. —Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 26 May 2025

Usually that matriarch, Ranevskaya is the play’s magnetic center, a grande dame whose efforts to come to terms with her world’s downfall embody the changes brewing in an entire society. —Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025

Before Mary Berry and Prue Leith, there was Fanny Cradock… The original grande dame of English cookery television, Cradock swept onto screens in the 1950s with theatrical flair. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, great lady

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for grande dame

• aspartame
• counterclaim
• overcame
• underframe
• username
• acclaim
• aflame
• airframe
• ballgame
• became
• declaim
• defame