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nursemaid
noun
nurse·maid
ˈnərs-ˌmād
: a girl or woman who is regularly employed to look after children
Synonyms
Examples of nursemaid in a Sentence
sent the children to their nursemaid
Recent Examples on the Web
Typically portrayed as a middle-aged nursemaid whose main claim to fame was surviving the mercurial Tudor king, Catherine was an accomplished scholar, religious reformer and advocate for women’s education.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 May 2024
For a time, the girl’s only duty in the grand English house was to serve as a kind of human foot warmer, but when her mistress gave birth to a profoundly mentally disabled daughter, Zed became the baby’s devoted nursemaid.
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 7 Sep. 2023
Here the often wonderfully eccentric minor characters — chauffeurs, nursemaids, household servants — vie for center stage with the equally eccentric bourgeois clans that employ them.
—Alida Becker, New York Times, 28 July 2023
Her nursemaid nicknamed her Lady Bird.
—CBS News, 14 Mar. 2021
Brow furrowed, décolletage emblazoned with a full-chest tattoo, Marija is no one’s idea of a classic nursemaid.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 1 Sep. 2021
That man, the vile King Kans, sends a demon disguised as a lovely nursemaid to kill Krishna in his foster-family’s home.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 21 Oct. 2022
Rhys received equally brutal treatment from the other female figure of authority in her formative years, her nursemaid, Meta, who violently shook her young charge when angry and terrified her with stories about blood-sucking zombies.
—Malcolm Forbes, WSJ, 17 June 2022
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, she was forced to work from a young age, alternatively acting as a nursemaid, a field hand, a cook and a woodcutter.
—Isis Davis-Marks, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Apr. 2021
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Word History
First Known Use
1657, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near nursemaid
Cite this Entry
“Nursemaid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nursemaid. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
nursemaid
noun
nurse·maid
ˈnər-ˌsmād
: a girl or woman employed to look after children
More from Merriam-Webster on nursemaid
Nglish: Translation of nursemaid for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of nursemaid for Arabic Speakers
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