n.
1) a career; chorus; college ( esp. AE ); dancing; flower; office; pinup; working ~
2) a ball ~ (who retrieves tennis balls)
3) (old-fashioned) a good ('virtuous') ~
4) a call ~ ('prostitute who can be summoned by telephone')
USAGE NOTE: It can be offensive to call a woman a ~ . Thus, career woman and working woman are considered by many to be more acceptable than career ~ and working ~ . ( see the Usage Note for woman .) In some circles, working ~ can be a euphemism for prostitute . In addition, the former use of ~ in the meaning of 'black female' is considered offensive. (See also the Usage Note for boy .)