What does "dame" mean?
Usually capitalized as Dame: a title equivalent to Sir for a female knight.
Dame
/deɪm/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Usually capitalized as Dame: a title equivalent to Sir for a female knight.
- Grammar: dame is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: lady, abbess, archduchess, babe.
- Useful contrasts: commoner, gentleman, man.
- Usage evidence: On an island in the Seine, there is a big church called Notre Dame.
How to use "dame"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dame" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dame" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dame" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dame" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dame" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "lady" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dame", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Usually capitalized as Dame: a title equivalent to Sir for a female knight. British
"Dame Edith Sitwell"
- 2 The titular prefix given to a female knight British
- 3 informal terms for a (young) woman wordnet
- 4 A matron at a school, especially Eton College. British
"Even though the dames’ houses were being gradually phased out at Eton, [John Henry] Newman was enthusiastic about the arrangement since it met one of the promoters’ key demands; besides, he had experienced something similar as a boy at Ealing School, where the boarding houses were also under the jurisdiction of dames. The Ealing dames ensured that boys were properly dressed and cared for them when sick, and they also ran the tuck shops."
- 5 a woman of refinement wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 In traditional pantomime: a melodramatic female often played by a man in drag. British
"[page 73, column 2] Mother Goose was produced on the 29th of December; Simmons playing the Old Dame; […] [page 74, column 1] Bugle condemns her to the ducking-stool, a sentence opposed by Colin, who espouses the cause of the Old Dame, who, escaping from her persecutors, puts an end to the wedding festivities by raising the ghost of the Squire's first wife."
- 7 A woman. US, dated, informal
"I can see that would be the kind of a chap that the dames would stand for everlastingly."
- 8 A lady, a woman. archaic
"Now, thou, deare dame, that workſte theſe ſweete effectes in mee, / Vouchsafe my zeale, that onely ſeeke to ſerve and honour thee."
- 9 The hereditary feudal ruler (seigneur) of Sark, when the title is held by a woman in her own right.
- 10 A queen. slang
Verb
- 1 To make a dame.
"The French call simply Pawn, “la Dame qui n’est point Damée, et l’on n’appelle Dame proprement dite, que le Pion qui est Damé, et couvert d’un autre Pion,” which means “the Draught or Pawn which is not damed, and which is only termed Dame or Queen, when the Pawn which is damed, is covered with another Pawn.”"
Example
"On an island in the Seine, there is a big church called Notre Dame."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dame"?
Common synonyms include: lady, abbess, archduchess, babe, baby, baroness.
How do you use "dame" in a sentence?
On an island in the Seine, there is a big church called Notre Dame.
How do you pronounce "dame"?
Pronounced /deɪm/.
Etymology
From Middle English dame, dam (“noble lady”), from Old French dame (“lady; term of address for a woman; the queen in card games and chess”), from Latin domina (“mistress of the house”), feminine form of dominus (“lord, master, ruler; owner of a residence”), or from Latin domus (“home, house”). Doublet of domina and donna.