maid

noun

ˈmād 

1

: an unmarried girl or woman especially when young : virgin

2

a

: maidservant

b

: a woman or girl employed to do domestic work

Synonyms

• biddy
• char [British]
• charwoman
• handmaiden
• handmaid
• house girl
• housekeeper
• housemaid
• maidservant
• skivvy [British]
• wench [old-fashioned]

Examples of maid in a Sentence

She hired a maid to do the cleaning.

hired a maid to do the housework after the baby was born

Recent Examples on the Web

Almada’s mother worked as a maid, a nurse, and, eventually, a schoolteacher; her father had a full-time job painting signs for the municipal government. —Graciela Mochkofsky, The New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2025

Kim Min-hee as Lady Hideko, a Japanese heiress, and Kim Tae-ri as Sook-hee, the pickpocket hired by a nefarious man to convince Hideko to marry him while serving as her maid. —Samantha Allen, Them, 10 Feb. 2025

Librarian-Chic The closest the streaming giant has so far come to winning Best Picture was with Alfonso Cuarón’s monochrome masterpiece about a live-in maid in Mexico City. —Radhika Seth, Vogue, 1 Feb. 2025

There are machines with brawny German beer maids, flawless Chinese geishas, Manchu emperors on golden buffalo. —Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English maide, short for maiden

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing maid

• maid-in-waiting
• maid of honor
• meter maid
• old maid
• sea-maid

Rhymes for maid

• aid
• aide
• bade
• blade
• braid
• clade
• dade
• fade
• flayed
• fraid
• frayed
• gade

Kids Definition

maid

noun

ˈmād 

1

: an unmarried girl or woman

especially : maiden entry 1

2

: a female servant