missus

noun mis·sus \ ˈmi-səz , -səs , especially Southern -zəz \

variants: or missis

Definition of missus

1 informal + old-fashioned : wife

… everybody knew Mr. Levov and everybody asked after the missus and the boys.
—Philip Roth

2 British, informal —used to address a woman whose name is not known

3 dialect : mistress 1a

See missus defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of missus from the Web

Much of the story is set in a Tuscan convent, where a manservant (Dave Franco) is on the run from a vengeful lord (Nick Offerman) and the lord's bored wife (Lauren Weedman) after the servant's dalliances with the missus come to light.

— michael phillips, chicagotribune.com, "'The Little Hours' review: 14th century sex comedy finds nuns on the run, in pursuit of a Franco," 12 July 2017
For one, the miss is now a missus after the BYU student married Nick Austin; former Miss Fountain Valley Aimee Le is now in medical school; and the organization that presents the pageant finally has its nonprofit status.

— greg mellen, Orange County Register, "Miss Fountain Valley Pageant returns to runway," 23 Feb. 2017

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