woman

noun

wom·​an ˈwu̇-mən 

especially Southern

ˈwō- 

or

ˈwə- 

plural women ˈwi-mən 

1

a

: an adult female person

b

: a woman belonging to a particular category (as by birth, residence, membership, or occupation)

—usually used in combination

councilwoman

2

: womankind

3

: distinctively feminine nature : womanliness

4

: a woman who is a servant or personal attendant

5

a

chiefly dialectal : wife

b

: mistress

c

: girlfriend sense 2

6

: a woman who is extremely fond of or devoted to something specified

I'm a chocolate woman through and through, but one bite of West's banana pudding cupcake and I was sold.

—Hattie Brown Garrow

woman adjective

womanless

ˈwu̇-mən-ləs 

 especially Southern  ˈwō-

 or  ˈwə-

adjective

Synonyms

• female
• lady

Examples of woman in a Sentence

She grew up to become a confident and beautiful woman.

She is a grown woman.

The store sells shoes for both men and women.

Recent Examples on the Web

The event, which was started by Queen Anne in 1711, is a staple of the British social calendar and an opportunity for men to dress up in tails, and for the women to show off their formal dresses and their best footwear. —Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 21 June 2025

The future seems bright for the woman who has gone from homicide suspect to cult hero, but her legal battles are not quite over. —Elise Hammond, CNN Money, 21 June 2025

And the commodification of women was normalized — treating prostitution as just a job. —Sonia Ossorio, New York Daily News, 21 June 2025

This further limits the pool of women positioned to become CEOs, underscoring just how far there is to go before full gender parity for women in leadership is within reach. —Liz Elting, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English wīfman, from wīf woman, wife + man human being, man

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing woman

• a man/woman/person of substance
• a man/woman/person to be reckoned with
• a man/woman/person to reckon with
• a marked man/woman
• anti-woman
• battered woman syndrome
• cleaning woman
• emancipated woman
• fancy woman
• kept woman
• like a man/woman possessed
• little woman
• make an honest woman of (someone)
• make (someone) an honest woman
• man/woman of few words
• man/woman of his/her word
• one-woman
• other woman
• Renaissance woman
• the little woman
• the other woman
• trans woman
• woman/man of style
• woman of color
• woman of ill repute
• woman of letters
• woman of the street
• woman of the world
• woman's/feminine touch
• woman's rights
• woman suffrage

Rhymes for woman

• businesswoman
• congresswoman
• englishwoman
• gentlewoman
• noblewoman
• policewoman
• washerwoman
• chairwoman
• frenchwoman
• kinswoman
• madwoman
• saleswoman

Kids Definition

woman

noun

wom·​an ˈwu̇m-ən 

plural women ˈwim-ən 

1

: an adult female person

2

: womankind

3

: a woman who is a servant or attendant

Etymology

Old English wīfman "a female person," from wīf "woman, wife" and man "person"