lady of the house

noun phrase

: the chief female in a household

Examples of lady of the house in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the home of fictional Downton Abbey during the height of the COVID pandemic, the real lady of the house enjoyed sharing a new concept: Virtual cocktail hour with tens of thousands of online guests. Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 25 Sep. 2024 In the early years, after the death of William’s first wife, Eliza was the de facto lady of the house, hosting dinners for William’s eminent literary colleagues. Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lady of the house.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lady of the house was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near lady of the house

Cite this Entry

“Lady of the house.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lady%20of%20the%20house. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!