as in prostitute
a woman who engages in sexual activities for money
in the 17th century the port was a notorious hangout for Caribbean pirates and their bawds
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bawd
Lewd women, bawds and adventuresses were not welcome in courts, nor were prostitutes or immoral characters.
—
Clement Knox, Time, 4 Feb. 2020
Two rival madams—based on real historical characters—are fighting each other for a customer base: earthy bawd Mrs. Margaret Wells and elegant, conniving Mrs. Lydia Quigley.
—Viv Groskop, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2017
Clement Knox, Time, 4 Feb. 2020
Two rival madams—based on real historical characters—are fighting each other for a customer base: earthy bawd Mrs. Margaret Wells and elegant, conniving Mrs. Lydia Quigley.
—Viv Groskop, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawd
Noun
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Epstein pled guilty in Florida state court in 2008 to one count each of soliciting minors for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
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Prosecutors have insisted, however, that Diddy wasn’t paying prostitutes just to make blue movies in their own court filings.—
Victoria Bekiempis,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Three other Scottish squad reinforcements -- lock Gregor Brown, hooker Ewan Ashman and prop Rory Sutherland -- were named on the bench.—
Nick Mulvenney,
Reuters,
21 July 2025
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Strip clubs, booze, hookers, blow, the whole nine yards.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bawd.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawd. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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