lady

noun, often attributive la·dy \ ˈlā-dē \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of lady

plural ladies

1 a : 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

3 a : 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

4 a : wife

b : girlfriend, mistress

5 a : 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

See lady defined for English-language learners

See lady defined for kids

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 of lady from the Web

One of them, Eva Branson, sounds like quite a lady.

— National Geographic, "Three Billionaires Are Racing to Space. Who Will Win?," 7 Apr. 2018
Fashion in Fiction: Jane Austen's Regency Novels AVON — While dressed in authentic Regency attire, Kandie Carle will give a detailed overview of the clothing of the Regency Era for both gentlemen and ladies.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Valley Edition," 3 Apr. 2018
In four games, the left-handed-hitting catcher batted .750 (12-for-16) with three doubles, one triple, four homers and — sit down, ladies and gentlemen — 19 RBIs.

— pat disabato, Daily Southtown, "Disabato: West Virginia recruit Matt McCormick heats up during St. Laurence's spring trip," 3 Apr. 2018
Jaelynn was a vibrant beautiful and sweet teenager who was evolving into a beautiful young lady.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "Jaelynn R. Willey," 30 Mar. 2018
Defective isn’t the word that the nice lady, Diane Waye of Stretching by the Bay, used.

— chris colin, Outside Online, "I'm Very Inflexible. So I Got Stretched Out By a Pro.," 23 Mar. 2018
This, ladies and gentlemen and gender nonconforming persons, is why Oprah is Oprah.

— michelle ruiz, Vogue, "Goop Has a Podcast—And Oprah Is Its First Guest," 8 Mar. 2018
That's right ladies and gentlemen, the Gaineses are having a boy!

— daniela sternitzky-di napoli, Houston Chronicle, "Chip Gaines shares video announcing the gender of his and Joanna's fifth child," 7 Mar. 2018
The kick-ass athlete who already made headlines for performing to Beyoncé wowed viewers yet again with a surprise costume change during the ladies' free skate last night at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "A French Figure Skater Made a Costume Change Midway Through Her Performance," 23 Feb. 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.

Origin and Etymology of lady

Middle English, from Old English hlǣfdige, from hlāf bread + -dige (akin to dǣge kneader of bread) — more at loaf, dairy

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

lady Synonyms

Synonyms

female, woman;

Related Words

dame, gentlewoman;

madam, madame, senora (or señora);

beauty, belle, damsel, gal, girl, ingenue (or ingénue), lass, lassie, mademoiselle, maid, maiden, miss, senorita (or señorita);

LADY Defined for English Language Learners

lady

noun

Definition of lady for English Language Learners

: a woman who behaves in a polite way
: a woman of high social position
: a man's girlfriend

LADY Defined for Kids

lady

noun la·dy \ ˈlā-dē \

Definition of lady for Students

plural ladies

1 : a woman of high social position

2 : a woman or girl who behaves in a polite way

3 : woman 1

The lady behind me was first.

4 : wife

5 : a British noblewoman —used as a title

Lady Jane Grey

History for lady

Lady was actually formed as a compound word, though its nature has been completely disguised by centuries of sound change. The Old English ancestor of lady was hlǣfdige, “female head of the household.” This compound is made up of hlāf, “loaf, bread,” and -dige, which is thought to mean “kneader,” and is akin to Old English dāg, “dough.” Why the “kneader of dough” was thought to be the most important woman in the household we are not quite sure.