ma'ams

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of ma'am.

   Right this way, ma'ams; the governor will see you both now.

   The deputy tipped his hat and said, "Evening, ma'ams," as the two sisters walked past.

   Note

   Its natural setting is direct address to two or more women at once: "Thank you, ma'ams." The apostrophe stays inside, marking the letters dropped from madam, and the plural -s goes on the end with no second apostrophe; ma'am's, with one before the s, is the possessive.

2. 2
   verbcolloquial

   Third-person singular simple present of ma'am.

   The new intern ma'ams every woman on the team, even the ones younger than he is.

   Every time the cashier ma'ams her, she winces a little.

   Note

   Turning the form of address into a verb is informal, and the woman addressed is always the object: the clerk ma'ams my grandmother. It reports a habit of speech rather than quoting it; in more formal writing, calls her ma'am says the same thing. The spelling doubles as the plural form of address.

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