variants
also handmaids
as in housekeepers
a female domestic servant
the princess was intensely shy, and allowed only her handmaiden to enter her chambers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of handmaidens
The common foe of all is expansionist Iran and its handmaidens Hamas and Hezbollah.
—
Josef Joffe, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
Josef Joffe, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handmaidens
Noun
-
Between 2009 and 2019, his assistants and housekeepers seem to have essentially been running the equivalent of an Airbnb operation at about 15 different apartments in the building.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Professional housekeepers are all about working smarter, not harder.—
Quincy Bulin,
Southern Living,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But Season Four takes viewers to lower-class settings like the bars where scullery maids and footmen relax, the markets where house staff shop, even the secret drawing rooms where servants eat their breakfast and discuss town gossip.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
2 Feb. 2026
-
In Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960s, a young white woman teams up with two Black maids to document the realities of domestic work in segregated households.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Handmaidens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handmaidens. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
