lady

Pluralladies

1. 1
   female adultnounpolitecountable

   A woman; often used as a polite or respectful word for any woman.

   The lady at the front desk answered all of our questions.

   Two ladies sat reading in the corner of the café.

   Similarwoman

   Note

   A courteous stand-in for woman, and also the word children use for any grown woman they do not know by name. In adult speech it softens a reference to a stranger, as in asking staff to direct this lady to another department, where woman would sound abrupt.

2. 2
   female (before nouns)nounbefore a noun

   Being a woman; used attributively before a noun to indicate female sex.

   A lady novelist delivered the keynote address at the festival.

   They requested a lady attendant for the fitting room.

   UsageBefore a job title, with the plural on the second noun: lady doctors.

   Similarwoman, female

   Note

   Placed before a job title, it marks the holder as a woman: lady doctor, lady novelist. It behaves like an adjective, so the plural falls on the second noun, giving lady doctors rather than ladies doctors. James Holledge's Sex and the Australian Teenager (1964) uses lady doctor this way, singling out the doctor's sex as relevant to the task. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

   • James Holledge wrote Sex and the Australian Teenager. library.unimelb.edu.au
3. 3
   nouncountable

   A woman of high social class or refined upbringing, or one who holds authority.

   Born into wealth, she was every inch a lady.

   In the novel, the ladies of the county would not receive the farmer's daughter in their drawing rooms.

   Similargentlewoman, noblewoman, aristocrat

   Note

   Servants addressed such a woman as my lady, and the reply "Yes, my lady" holds a whole social order in three words: rank on one side, service on the other. That deference is what separates this sense from the everyday polite use, where lady is simply courteous and implies nothing about birth or authority. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Servants used “my lady” to address women of rank. gutenberg.org
   • “Yes, my lady” is attested as a servant's reply. gutenberg.org
4. 4
   wife's titlenoun

   A title for a woman of rank: a peeress below duchess, the wife or widow of a knight, baronet or lord, or the daughter of a duke, marquess or earl.

   After the wedding, she was known throughout the county as Lady Whitmore.

   Lady Carlisle accompanied her husband to the opening ceremony.

   UsageWritten with a capital before a name: Lady Whitmore.

5. 5
   blunt addressnounslang

   An informal or brusque way of addressing a woman, especially a stranger.

   Lady, you can't park your car here during rush hour.

   Watch it, lady, that's my foot you're standing on!

   UsageUsed alone to address someone: Hey, lady! Don't confuse it with the polite ladies and gentlemen.

   Similarmiss

6. 6
   girlfriendnouncolloquialcountable

   The woman someone is married to or going out with; a sweetheart.

   He introduced his lady to all of his old college friends.

   The old sailor wrote long letters to his lady back home.

   UsageMost often with a possessive: his lady, my lady. It can sound fond or playful.

   Similarsweetheart, girlfriend, partner, wife, girl

   Note

   The informal label hides a long literary history. Romeo, watching Juliet, says "It is my lady, O it is my love", and Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) has "the gentleman and his lady" enter a room. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • Romeo says the quoted words while watching Juliet. shakespeare.mit.edu
   • The quotation's wording is correct, with editorial punctuation differences. shakespeare.mit.edu
   • Oliver Goldsmith wrote The Vicar of Wakefield. gutenberg.org
   • The Vicar of Wakefield was first published in 1766. archive.org
   • The novel describes the gentleman and his wife entering, using the quoted wording apart from punctuation. gutenberg.org
7. 7
   female lordnouncountable

   A woman with authority over a household or estate; the female counterpart of lord.

   On her father's death she became the lady of the estate.

   Several ladies governed their territories as fully as any lord.

   UsageCommon in the lady of the house and the lady of the manor.

   Similarmistress

   Note

   The counterpart of lord carries power as well as gender. When Lear says "We make thee Lady" over forests, rivers and meadows, he is handing over land to rule. James Russell Lowell, in 1848, keeps the couple together in "lord or lady of high degree". Both words go back to bread: Old English hlǣfdīge, the lady, was literally the loaf-kneader of the household. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

   • Lady can denote a woman with authority, corresponding to lord. en.wikipedia.org
   • Lear says the quoted words while granting authority over land described as forests, rivers and meadows. shakespeare.mit.edu
   • The Lowell poem containing the quotation was first published in 1848. d.lib.rochester.edu
   • Lowell's The Vision of Sir Launfal reads "lord or lady of high degree", with "degree" rather than "decree". d.lib.rochester.edu
   • Both lord and lady have etymologies involving bread. en.wikipedia.org
   • Old English hlǣfdīge meant mistress of a household and is etymologically bread-kneader. en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   nounUK

   A public toilet set aside for women, usually called the ladies.

   She's gone to the ladies; she'll be back in a minute.

   There was a long queue for the ladies at the interval.

   Similartoilet, loo

   Note

   British speakers reach for it almost always with "the" and in the plural: someone is in the ladies, queuing for the ladies, or has just popped to the ladies. Although the form is plural, it names a single room and needs no noun after it, which is why it sits so easily in quick, everyday sentences about stepping away for a minute.

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