lady

noun, often attributive

la·dy | \ ˈlā-dē

plural ladies

Definition of lady

1a : a woman having proprietary rights or authority especially as a feudal superior

b : a woman receiving the homage or devotion of a knight or lover

2 capitalized : virgin mary —usually used with Our

3a : a woman of superior social position

b : a woman of refinement and gentle manners

c : woman, female —often used in a courteous reference show the lady to a seat or usually in the plural in address ladies and gentlemen

4a : wife

b : girlfriend, mistress

5a : any of various titled women in Great Britain —used as the customary title of (1) a marchioness, countess, viscountess, or baroness or (2) the wife of a knight, baronet, member of the peerage, or one having the courtesy title of lord and used as a courtesy title for the daughter of a duke, marquess, or earl

b : a woman who is a member of an order of knighthood — compare dame

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about lady

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Examples of lady in a Sentence

Her mother was always telling her to act like a lady. He bumped into some lady walking to the bus stop. He helped a little old lady cross the street.

Recent Examples on the Web

After Kate's water broke and she was admitted to the hospital, Miguel was, arguably, the most chill person in the waiting room — well, besides Madison and that incredibly aggravating Rold Gold pretzel lady. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'This Is Us' Fans Are Furious With Miguel After Watching the Latest Episode," 13 Mar. 2019 The Change Lol at @Colton getting his hair fixed in between ladies. — Jenny Hollander, Marie Claire, "To Colton Underwood's Hair During 'The Bachelor' Finale: Wyd?," 12 Mar. 2019 Either Ari is Hannah Montana-ing us all and living a double life as an influencer, or these two ladies are twins. — Kelsey Stiegman, Seventeen, "This Fashion Blogger Looks JUST Like Ariana Grande and People Are Losing It," 21 Feb. 2019 Justice is about how much ladies get paid…. Justice is about making sure that being polite is not the same thing as being quiet. — De Elizabeth, Glamour, "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Speaks at 2019 Women's March in New York City," 20 Jan. 2019 Of course, in classic Quantic Dream fashion this news was delivered by a, uh...a CGI android lady? — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: The sordid tale of Starbreeze's stumbles, Overwatch players learn piano (with guns)," 1 Feb. 2019 These ladies are not getting paid enough to risk personal injury that would definitely also become a viral video. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, "100 drones are joining the cast of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular," 29 Oct. 2018 Of course, on these ladies, everything looks like couture. — Harper's BAZAAR, "Crazy Rich Couture," 15 Aug. 2018 The notes from these two young ladies, ages six and seven, sent to me, sat on my desk these last two months and motivated me daily. — James Freeman, WSJ, "Gender, Campbell’s Soup and the American Consumer," 21 May 2018

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