Ma'am
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A form of address for a woman: contraction of madam.
"Madam me no Madam, but learn to retrench your vvords; and ſay Mam; as yes Mam, and no Mam, as other Ladies VVomen do. Madam! 'tis a year in pronouncing."
- 2 a woman of refinement wordnet
- 3 A polite and formal way to address a woman.
"Ma'am, will you be attending the dinner this evening?"
- 4 A respectful term of address to a woman of higher rank or position.
"– Sergeant, have the platoon in formation and ready for inspection at 0800. – Aye aye, ma'am."
- 5 A title for a married woman. archaic
"That is Ma'am Smith, the matriarch of the Smith families."
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- 6 (US, education) A female schoolteacher; a schoolmarm. archaic
- 1 To address (a woman) as "ma'am". informal, transitive
"["]And, fellas, I've got to tell you that your Texas manners are perfect. Y'all have about ma'amed me to death. But you can call me Lucy from here on out. Got it?" / "Yes, ma'am—I mean, Lucy," Joseph complied, taking the sledgehammer and grinning as he looked from it to the blue wall."
Example
More examples"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
Etymology
The noun is a contraction of madam, and represents a regional pronunciation of that word in the United Kingdom. The verb is derived from the noun.
Related phrases
More for "ma'am"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.