1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

ladies

noun

Definition of ladiesnext
plural of lady
1
as in women
an adult female human being "ladies and gentlemen, please observe closely," said the magician

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in wives
a female partner in a marriage in public the husband was frequently seen holding hands with his lady

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in duchesses
a woman of high birth or social position the ladies of the royal court were all dressed extravagantly

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in girlfriends
a female romantic companion when do we get to meet your new lady?

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 ladies Still, there’s no panic from the ladies in seafoam even after watching two stars hobbled in a matter of days as the regular season ended. — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 24 Sep. 2026 The store operates with the help of several neighborhood ladies who volunteer their time. — Debbie Elliott, NPR, 20 Sep. 2026 For the ladies, Ron's crew provides cherries that are dangled over their faces. — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026 Prevailing xenophobic notions of the time would have insisted on Bridget’s culpability, particularly when Irish women were seen as more likely to be able to swing an ax than leisurely ladies like Lizzie. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026 After a riveting night of dance from the male contestants, the ladies took to ballroom floor by storm. — Colleen Kratofil, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026 The kickoff continues Wednesday night with premiere night two, when the ladies will take the stage with their professional partners. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026 There are ladies in opera coats and tiaras, as well as the likes of Michelle Obama—in a sculptural Diotima gown—and Tom Ford designer Haider Ackermann, wearing a tee from the merch stand. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 15 Sep. 2026 Bro-country, the prevailing country trend of the 2010s, was defined by songs that were interchangeable, using the familiar signifiers of trucks, tailgates, and ladies in jean shorts, usually set to the same midtempo beat. — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ladies
  1. women
  2. wives
  3. matrons
  4. girlfriends
  5. females
  6. queens
  7. girls
  8. dames
Noun
  • All net proceeds were donated to charities that support and advocate for women and girls, and as the evening came to a close, Melinda Gates matched the $10 million already raised and brought the total to $20 million.
    — Karla Cote, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
  • But hair loss is also a potential symptom of PMOS, which stands for polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, a common hormonal disorder that affects about 5 to 6 million women in the United States.
    — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of women
Noun
  • Harrelson and McConaughey’s fictional wives, played by Brittany Ishibashi and Natalie Martinez, respectively, roughly align with their real-world equivalents in physical appearance.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
  • This is how things roll in a tiny German village populated by the surviving wives and children of soldiers who are already dead or about to die on the battlefield.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of wives
Noun
  • There was also a shift toward elaborate descriptions of what society matrons wore to events, and again, women were believed to be more able to provide these verbal illustrations.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2026
Definition of matrons
Noun
  • Their differences come to a head when Swiftie Kira plans to celebrate her birthday on Friday the 13th with a trip to the 13 isles of the Grenadines with her 13 best girlfriends and expects Ben to be present.
    — Isabella Albaig, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The assistant also sometimes acted as a go-between for Combs and one of his girlfriends who used the pseudonym Jane in court.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of girlfriends
Noun
  • The bears, which are normally solitary creatures, can be picky when choosing mates, and females are only in heat for one to three days each year.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The victims include five 18-year-old males, five 17-year-old males and two 18-year-old females.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of females
Noun
  • Images of these women spun in my head like the portraits of queens.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The film is adorned with musical and aesthetic touches that allude to an idealized past of knights, princesses, kings and queens.
    — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of queens
Noun
  • When Jenn tells her that Vicki just doesn’t like new girls, Carmella hits her with a nuke by saying that Vicki is new this year too.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
  • And this is a blatant public display of stripping that from women and girls.
    — Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of girls
Noun
  • Still, the biography offers a nearly contemporary portrait of one of Western literature’s grand dames, as well as some useful context around the publication of her novels, beginning with Sense and Sensibility.
    — Vogue, Vogue, 10 Sep. 2026
  • But Broadwick is doing something different to the grand dames and glassy international transplants.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of dames

Browse Nearby Words

la-di-da
ladies
ladies' man
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ladies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ladies. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of argot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All