woman

noun

wom·​an ˈwu̇-mən 

especially Southern

ˈwō- 

or

ˈwə- 

plural women ˈwi-mən 

1

a

: an adult female person

b

: a woman belonging to a particular category (as by birth, residence, membership, or occupation)

—usually used in combination

councilwoman

2

: womankind

3

: distinctively feminine nature : womanliness

4

: a woman who is a servant or personal attendant

5

a

chiefly dialectal : wife

b

: mistress

c

: girlfriend sense 2

6

: a woman who is extremely fond of or devoted to something specified

I'm a chocolate woman through and through, but one bite of West's banana pudding cupcake and I was sold.

—Hattie Brown Garrow

woman adjective

womanless

ˈwu̇-mən-ləs 

 especially Southern  ˈwō-

 or  ˈwə-

adjective

Synonyms

• female
• lady

Examples of woman in a Sentence

She grew up to become a confident and beautiful woman.

She is a grown woman.

The store sells shoes for both men and women.

Recent Examples on the Web

Last year, hundreds of thousands were able to enter, most of them women, children and elderly men. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 10 Mar. 2024

There was a young woman, barely alive, next to the boy. —Rick Barrett, Journal Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2024

Wang honors these women by being silly rather than sentimental, demonstrating that a great documentary is sometimes merely a record of something that might have otherwise been lost. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024

And traditionally, women earned lower salaries than men, so their retirement benefits often don’t measure up. —Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024

The protest, which was held by the Palestinian American Community Circle in Civic Space Park, focused on the hunger that Palestinian women face as a consequence of the Israel-Hamas conflict. —Madeline Nguyen, The Arizona Republic, 10 Mar. 2024

The performers joined forces to collectively bang a drum, dressed in traditional Osage attire, as the women sang. —Tatiana Tenreyro, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024

The woman Britt referenced testified before Congress about being forced to work in Mexican brothels from 2004 to 2008, when George W. Bush was in the White House and Biden was still a senator. —Rachel Pannett, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2024

By hiring Nevarez, Oklahoma was among the rare schools to have two women in senior roles. —Tim Casey, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English wīfman, from wīf woman, wife + man human being, man

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing woman

• a man/woman/person to be reckoned with
• a man/woman/person to reckon with
• like a man/woman possessed
• fancy woman
• one-woman
• man/woman of his/her word
• woman's rights
• trans woman
• woman of the world
• woman of ill repute
• woman/man of style
• woman's/feminine touch
• the other woman
• woman suffrage
• woman of the street
• man/woman of few words
• Renaissance woman
• a marked man/woman
• anti-woman
• make an honest woman of (someone)
• little woman
• make (someone) an honest woman
• battered woman syndrome
• woman of letters
• the little woman
• other woman
• kept woman
• emancipated woman
• a man/woman/person of substance
• cleaning woman
• woman of color

Kids Definition

woman

noun

wom·​an ˈwu̇m-ən 

plural women ˈwim-ən 

1

: an adult female person

2

: womankind

3

: a woman who is a servant or attendant

Etymology

Old English wīfman "a female person," from wīf "woman, wife" and man "person"