ladies-in-waiting

noun

plural of lady-in-waiting
as in chambermaids

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ladies-in-waiting
  1. nursemaids
  2. attendants
  3. handmaidens
  4. housekeepers
Noun
  • Providing relief and contrast are the sisters, daughters, mothers, wives, mistresses, and nursemaids, all of whom also have views on ideal social order.
    — Adam Begley, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2025
Definition of nursemaids
Noun
  • Others threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin.
    — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 7 July 2026
  • Sea of mourners gather for Khamenei Mourners reached out to touch the truck, and some threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing.
    — Nasser Karimi, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
Definition of attendants
Noun
  • The handmaids’ crimson robes evolved into protest iconography around the world because the story captured fears about authoritarianism and gender more viscerally than overt political messaging ever could.
    — Marc Adelman, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026
  • Curators pop up in famous artists’ biographies all the time, usually as handmaidens to the creator’s genius, opening a door to a gallery here or supporting a grant application there.
    — Hilton Als, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2026
Definition of handmaidens
Noun
  • Toward the middle, chief housekeepers can earn between $4,000 and $7,000 monthly, while executive chefs can make $5,000 to $9,000.
    — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 8 July 2026
  • The two housekeepers denied having such a conversation with Brown, noting language differences would have made such a discussion unlikely.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 1 July 2026
Definition of housekeepers
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.

Browse Nearby Words

ladies' rooms
ladies-in-waiting
lading
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ladies-in-waiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ladies-in-waiting. Accessed 11 Jul. 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 xeric

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

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
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All