lady

Syllables: la·dyUK/ˈleɪ.di/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/ˈlɛj.dɪj/

lady noun: the mistress of a household. Also the alternative form of Lady.

Noun (1)

lady (plural ladies)

(historical) The mistress of a household.
A woman of breeding or higher class, a woman of authority.
- "I would like the dining room to be fully set by tonight; would you do so?" "Yes, my lady."
- ‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”.[…]’.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC
The feminine of lord, a lordess.
- Of all theſe bounds euen from this Line, to this, / With ſhadowie Forreſts, and with Champains rich’d / With plenteous Riuers, and wide-ſkirted Meades / We make thee Lady.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- ’T was the proudest hall in the North Countree,
  And never its gates might opened be,
  Save to lord or lady of high decree[…]1848, James Russell Lowell, The Vision of Sir Launfaul, 6th edition, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, published 1858
A title for someone married to a lord or gentleman.
A title that can be used instead of the formal terms of marchioness, countess, viscountess, or baroness.
(polite) A woman: an adult female human.
- Please direct this lady to the soft furnishings department.
- In Leningrad I met a lady. She was sitting at the hard-currency bar of the Hotel Moscow, sipping gin.1989 May, Priit J. Vesilind, “The Baltic: Arena of Power”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 604
(in plural) A polite reference or form of address to women.
- Ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to be here today. Follow me, ladies!
- The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious...1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58
(slang) Used to address a female.
- Hey, lady, move your car!
- Hey, ladies, how are you doing?
(informal) A wife or girlfriend; a sweetheart.
- It is my Lady, O it is my Loue, O that ſhe knew ſhe were,
  She ſpeakes, yet ſhe ſayes nothing, what of that?c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- But nothing could now exceed my confusion upon seeing the gentleman and his lady enter1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC
A woman to whom the particular homage of a knight was paid; a woman to whom one is devoted or bound.
- The ſoldier here his waſted ſtore ſupplies,
  And takes new valor from the Ladies’ eyes.1666, Edmund Waller, “Instructions to a Painter”, in The Works of Edmund Walker, Dublin: W. G. Jones, published 1768, page 154
(slang) A queen (the playing card).
(attributive) A woman.
- A lady doctor.
- The recent disclosures caused one headmistress of a city college to arrange for sex instructions to be given by a lady doctor to various forms.1964, James Holledge, Sex and the Australian Teenager, Melbounre: Horwitz Publications, page 15

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(archaic) gastric mill, the triturating apparatus in the stomach of a lobster, consisting of calcareous plates; so called from a fancied resemblance to a seated female figure.
(UK, slang) A five-pound note. (Rhyming slang, Lady Godiva for fiver.)
(in plural, slang) A woman’s breast.
(rare, slang) A queen.

Verb

lady (third-person singular simple present ladies, present participle ladying, simple past and past participle ladied)

To address as “lady”.
- “[…]When I am dead ye’ll mind I said it, my leddy.” “Ah, Elspeth, but do not lady me; say Christine, just wee Christine.[…]”1897, Macmillan’s Magazine, page 13, column 1
- “I thought you would never come, Lady Mary,” and he kissed her again. “Why will you persist in ladying me? Have I not told you—stop, now, will you?” and she pushed his mouth away. “Have I not told you as many times as you have seen me to call me Mary only?”1906, Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine: A Popular Journal of General Literature, page 374

Noun (2) capitalized: Lady

Lady (plural Ladies)

An aristocratic title for a woman.
- Honor guests were Ladies Smith and Walker of Port Huron, Michigan. Lady Walker has been a Maccabee for 40 years.1931, The Bee Hive, volume 50, number 5, page 16, column 1
1. Used with a surname or the name of a peerage, for a peeress in her own right (other than a duchess), or the wife (or widow) of a peer (other than a duke).
  - Would Lady Macbeth care for dessert?
  - How do you do, Lady Windermere?1892, Oscar Wilde, “Act I”, in Lady Windermere's Fan […]
2. Used with a surname, for the wife (or widow) of a knight or baronet.
  - Sir John Smith and Lady Smith accompanied the ambassador.
  - Lady Russell was most anxiously zealous on the subject, and gave it much serious consideration. […] Herself, the widow of only a knight, she gave the dignity of a baronet all its due;1818, Jane Austen, Persuasion
3. Used as a courtesy title with the woman’s given name, for a daughter of a duke, marquess, or earl.
  - He would feel that the mere idea of hearing a butler announce ‘Chief-Detective-Inspector and Lady Mary Parker’ would have something shocking about it.1930, Dorothy Sayers, Strong Poison
4. Used with her husband’s given name, for the wife (or widow) of a man who is the son of a duke or marquess, or the oldest son of an earl.
  - ”[…] Excuse me, mum, wot might your married name be?”
    ”Lady Peter Wimsey,” said Harriet, feeling not at all sure that it was her name.1937, Dorothy L. Sayers, Busman's Honeymoon
A high priestess.

Proper noun capitalized: Lady

Lady

The title for the (primary) female deity in female-centered religions.
- My Lady, will you not take pity on me?
1. The major supernatural figurehead in the Wiccan religion, a triune goddess split into the Mother, Maiden, and Crone.
  - ...different stages of life as represented by our Lady as Maiden, Mother, and Crone, as well as our Lord as Master, Father, and Sage.2002, A.J. Drew, Wicca for Couples: Making Magick Together, page 90
  - The Lord and the Lady Actually, when I say that Wicca is a Goddess tradition, I'm really only telling half of the story.2003, Carl McColman, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism, page 46

Also used as

lady is also the alternative form of Lady.

lady meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali

lady in Hindi

polite term referring to a woman: महिला mahilā, महोदया mahodyā, श्रीमती śrīmtī, देवी devī
toilets intended for use by women: महिला mahilā

lady in Urdu

polite term referring to a woman: صاحبہ sāhiba, بانو bānū, مہیلا mahilā
woman of breeding and authority: خاتون xātūn

lady in Bengali

ভদ্রমহিলা

More languagesFewer languages

lady in Telugu: మహిళ mahiḷa
lady in Odia: ଭଦ୍ରମହିଲା
lady in Pashto: مېرمنه mermᶕna
lady in Tagalog: gining
lady in Arabic: سَيِّدَة sayyida, سَيِّدَتِي sayyidatī, أُسْتَاذَة ʔustāḏa, هَانُم hānum
lady in Malay: puan
lady in Persian: خانم xânom, مادام mâdâm, بانو bânu, کدبانو kadbânu
lady in Vietnamese: quý bà, nữ chủ nhân, bà chủ, phu nhân

Examples of lady in a sentence

In Greek it means “my” and her Paramanas always called her Lady Mary Mou, so we called her Mou.1928, The Letters of Mary Nisbet of Dirleton, Countess of Elgin, New York, N.Y.: D Appleton and Company, page 276:
‘Then, Lady Placida, there is something I wish to ask of you.’ ‘Only,’ she said sternly, ‘if you stop Ladying me.2006, Jim Butcher, Cursor’s Fury: Book Three of the Codex Alera, New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, page 658:
“Lady!” “No, do not ‘lady’ me!” Margaret admonished.2013, Brenda Joyce, A Rose in the Storm, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 130:
“How can I help, my lady?” “Stop the ladying.[…]”2018, Skye MacKinnon, Winter Princess (Daughter of Winter, Book Two), Peryton Press:

All 40 example sentences with lady

Synonyms of lady

Goddess

Antonyms

antonym(s) of

Forms of lady

Noun
plural	ladies
plural	Ladies
Verb
third-person singular present	ladies
present participle	ladying
past participle	ladied
past	ladied

Plural of lady: ladies

Origin of lady

From Middle English lady, laddy, lafdi, lavedi, from Old English hlǣfdīġe (“mistress of a household, wife of a lord, lady”, literally “bread-kneader”), from hlāf (“bread, loaf”) + dǣġe (“kneader”), related to Old English dǣġe (“maker of dough”) (whence dey (“dairymaid”)). Compare also lord. More at loaf, dairy, dough. Unrelated to lad.

Words formed from lady

Phrases with lady

124 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with lady

Questions about lady

What does lady mean?: Lady means the mistress of a household.
What is lady in Hindi?: Lady in Hindi is महिला (mahilā), महोदया (mahodyā), श्रीमती (śrīmtī). See Lady meaning in Hindi.
How do you use lady in a sentence?: In Greek it means “my” and her Paramanas always called her Lady Mary Mou, so we called her Mou.
What part of speech is lady?: Lady can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce lady?: Lady is pronounced /ˈleɪ.di/ (UK).
What is the plural of lady?: The plural of lady is ladies.

Words near lady in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: lady (page history and authors); Lady (page history and authors); lady (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); lady (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-lady.ogg.

Cite this entry: “lady.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lady. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.