INDEX:
1. a woman
2. a woman who does a particular job or activity
3. what you call a woman when you speak to her or write to her
4. for women or relating to women
5. believing in equal rights for women
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ MOTHER
↑ GIRLFRIEND/BOYFRIEND
↑ SEX
↑ MAN
↑ CHARACTER
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1. a woman
▷ woman /ˈwʊmən/ [countable noun]
a female adult :
▪ Rebecca Stephens was the first British woman to climb Mount Everest.
▪ Who’s that woman you were talking to just now?
▪ In some African countries, the women do most of the agricultural work.
▷ lady /ˈleɪdi/ [countable noun]
a polite word for a woman, especially a woman who is there when you are speaking about her :
▪ There’s a lady here who wants to speak to you about her account.
old lady
▪ Ella is the elderly lady who lives next door.
ladies and gentlemen
use this when you are talking to an audience, making a speech etc
▪ Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to welcome you here tonight.
▷ girl /gɜːʳl/ [countable noun]
a young woman :
▪ He’s going out with that girl who works in the library.
▪ On Saturday night, the streets are full of teenage girls and boys, out for a good time.
young girl
▪ In Britain, some young girls are choosing parenthood as an alternative to employment.
2. a woman who does a particular job or activity
▷ woman /ˈwʊmən/ [countable noun]
woman writer/teacher/priest/driver etc
:
▪ Mrs Thatcher was Britain’s first woman prime minister.
▪ an exciting new collection of short stories by women writers
▪ Not long ago, the Church of England voted to ordain women priests.
▪ Women drivers tend to be much more careful than men.
:
policewoman/businesswoman/publicity woman etc
▪ A young policewoman was standing at the door.
▪ I was impressed by some of the high-flying businesswomen at the conference.
▷ female /ˈfiːmeɪl/ [adjective usually before noun] formal
a female worker, teacher, singer etc is a woman or girl - use this to contrast women with men who are doing the same thing :
▪ Emma is the only female lawyer that the firm has ever employed.
▪ Female students tend to get better grades than male students.
▪ In Tokyo, the number of female taxi drivers is up 75% since 1972.
▷ lady /ˈleɪdi/ [adjective only before noun]
a polite word, which some women may find offensive, for a woman who does an important or professional job :
lady doctor/councillor etc
▪ I’d rather see a lady doctor, if that’s possible.
▪ The town has had a lady mayor for a couple of years now.
3. what you call a woman when you speak to her or write to her
▷ Mrs British /Mrs. American /ˈmɪsɪz, ˈmɪsəz/
use this before the family name of a woman who is married :
▪ Mrs Thomas, the doctor is ready to see you now.
▪ ‘Dear Mrs. Gilman,’ the letter said ...
▪ It’s Mrs Hawksworth’s 70th birthday this weekend.
▷ Miss /mɪs/
use this before the family name of a woman who has never been married :
▪ The children were told that they should call their new teacher Miss Watts.
▪ My secretary, Miss Evans, will meet you in reception.
▷ Ms British /Ms. American /mɪz, məz/
use this before a woman’s family name if you do not know whether she is married, or if it is not important whether she is married :
▪ Would you prefer to be called Mrs or Ms Cawley?
▪ Does anyone know a Ms. Jacobs? There’s a letter for her here.
▷ madam /ˈmædəm/ formal
use this when writing a formal letter to a woman. In British English this is also used when talking to a customer in a shop, hotel, restaurant etc :
▪ Can I help you, madam?
▪ Dear Madam, I am writing in response to your advertisement.
Madam Chairman
use this to address a female chairman in a formal discussion
▪ Madam Chairman, I would like to reply to that point.
▷ ma'am /mæm, mɑːm, məmǁmæm/ American spoken
a polite word used when talking to a woman who you do not know :
▪ Would you like some help, ma'am?
4. for women or relating to women
▷ women’s /ˈwɪmɪnz/ [adjective only before noun]
use this about things that are designed for women or done by women, and not designed for or done by men :
▪ She’s the fashion editor for a women’s magazine.
▪ Why don’t they ever show women’s football on TV?
▪ the latest and most fashionable trends in women’s clothes
▷ ladies’ /ˈleɪdiz/ [adjective only before noun] formal
used, especially in the past, about things that are designed for women or done by women, and not designed for or done by men :
▪ I managed to get a place on the university ladies’ golf team.
▪ the ladies’ tennis tournament
▪ Ladies’ fashions are on the first floor.
the ladies’ room/the ladies’
the women’s toilets in a public place
▪ Could you tell me where the ladies’ room is?
▷ female /ˈfiːmeɪl/ [adjective only before noun]
use this about behaviour or personal qualities that are traditionally thought to be typical of women, or about physical characteristics that belong to women :
▪ Many women reject the traditional female roles of wife and mother.
▪ Patience and kindness are often seen as female qualities.
▪ the female reproductive system
▷ feminine /ˈfemɪnən, ˈfemənən/ [adjective]
looking attractive in a way that is traditionally thought to be typical of a woman :
▪ Hairstyles this autumn are long, soft and very feminine.
▪ Lindsay wears very feminine clothes - pretty dresses with flowers on and things like that.
▪ the rounded feminine shape
femininity /ˌfemɪˈnɪnəti, ˌfeməˈnɪnəti/ [uncountable noun]
▪ ideas of femininity
▷ effeminate /ɪˈfemɪnət, ɪˈfemənət/ [adjective]
use this about a man who behaves like a woman or looks like a woman :
▪ He was very young and handsome in a slightly effeminate way.
▪ The way he walks is a bit effeminate, and he sounds effeminate too.
▷ womanly /ˈwʊmənli/ [adjective]
womanly qualities are typical of a grown woman, especially one who is sensible, kind etc :
▪ She had a plump, womanly figure.
▪ the conventional womanly virtues of patience and sense
▪ He thought that since she’d had children, she’d grown more attractive and womanly.
5. believing in equal rights for women
▷ feminism /ˈfemɪnɪz ə m, ˈfemənɪz ə m/ [uncountable noun]
a set of beliefs based on the principle that women are equal to men and should be treated equally :
▪ There were many close links between social reform movements and feminism.
▪ the civilising influence of feminism
▷ feminist /ˈfemɪnəst, ˈfemənəst/ [countable noun]
someone who believes strongly in the principle that men and women should be treated equally, and that society should be changed so that this can happen :
▪ The feminists marched in thousands when David Laing urged married women to give up their jobs and stay at home.
radical feminist
someone with extreme feminist views
▪ In the 1960's I saw myself as a revolutionary and a radical feminist.
feminist [adjective]
▪ the early feminist movement