Dame is a title given to a woman as a special honour because of important service or work that she has done.
[British]
...Dame Judi Dench.
2. countable noun
A dame is a woman. This use could cause offence.
[US, informal, old-fashioned]
Who does that dame think she is?
More Synonyms of dame
dame in British English
(deɪm)
noun
1.
(formerly) a woman of rank or dignity; lady
2.
a nun who has taken the vows of her order, esp a Benedictine
3. archaic, mainly British
a matronly or elderly woman
4. slang, mainly US and Canadian
a woman
5. Also called: pantomime dame British
the role of a comic old woman in a pantomime, usually played by a man
Word origin
C13: from Old French, from Latin domina lady, mistress of a household
Dame in British English
noun(in Britain)
1.
the title of a woman who has been awarded the Order of the British Empire or any of certain other orders of chivalry
2.
the legal title of the wife or widow of a knight or baronet, placed before her name
Dame Judith
Compare Lady
dame in American English
(deɪm)
noun
1. [D-]; Archaic
a title given to a woman in authority or the mistress of a household: now only in personifications
Dame Care
2.
an elderly or matronly woman
3. [D-]
in Great Britain
a.
the legal title of the wife of a knight or baronet
b.
the title of a woman who has received an order of knighthood
used always with the given name
4. Slang
a woman or girl
Word origin
ME < OFr < L domina, lady, fem. of dominus, a lord: see dominate
Examples of 'dame' in a sentence
dame
There has also been a passing of grand dames.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Men will no longer be allowed to dress up as women to play pantomime dames?
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Can't we make her a dame?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Actually I may write to the home secretary and suggest she put panto dames on the nationality quiz.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Does that make him a panto dame?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
She was made a dame for her services to literature.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He must know that he is far too tall to make a convincing dame.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
You gotta love the grand old dame.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Now she is to become a dame herself in the new year honours list.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The enfant terrible has turned into the grand dame.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
She looks like a pantomime dame.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
St Pancras has become the grande dame that her youth always promised.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
But that would be taking the panto dame of British politics far too seriously.
The Sun (2009)
Grand is currently the grande dame of London cool.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Then there are the looks: it is a supermodel amid a sea of pantomime dames.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
They were luxurious gowns, like any grand dame would wear.
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss THE WOLF AND THE DOVE
Name the dame Who are these celebrity pantomime dames?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
I approach three young men dressed as panto dames.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The grand dame of international museum bosses is such a well known figure in Russia that her departure led the news bulletins.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
A special collaboration between the grand dame of American rock and the classical ensemble.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He, like other great dames, makes being a mouthy bloke in a frock look easy.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
If you don't know what you are doing with liquid eyeliner you'll end up looking like a pantomime dame.
The Sun (2012)
The grand old dame at the end of the High Road is one of the most evocative venues in the sport.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
All related terms of 'dame'
dame school
(formerly) a small school , often in a village , usually run by an elderly woman in her own home to teach young children to read and write
grande dame
a woman regarded as the most experienced , prominent , or venerable member of her profession , etc
Notre Dame
the early Gothic cathedral of Paris , on the Île de la Cit é, built between 1163 and 1257; badly damaged by a fire in 2019
Dame Fortune
the personification of fortune as a woman
pantomime dame
an exaggerated comedic female character in a pantomime played by a male actor
dame's rocket
→ another name for dame's violet
dame's violet
a Eurasian hairy perennial plant, Hesperis matronalis , cultivated in gardens for its mauve or white fragrant flowers: family Brassicaceae ( crucifers )
Notre-Dame-des-Vertus
an industrial suburb of Paris , on the Seine . Pop: 63 136 (1999)
Aubervilliers
an industrial suburb of Paris , on the Seine . Pop: 63 136 (1999)
(noun)
Definition
(in Britain) the title of a woman who has been awarded the Order of the British Empire or another order of chivalry
a Dame of the British Empire
Synonyms
lady
the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness