/ ˈwʊmən; NAmE / noun ( pl. women / ˈwɪmɪn; NAmE /)
1.
[ C ] an adult female human :
men, women and children
a 24-year-old woman
I prefer to see a woman doctor.
2.
[ U ] female humans in general :
( informal )
She's all woman! (= has qualities that are typical of women)
3.
[ C ] (in compounds) a woman who comes from the place mentioned or whose job or interest is connected with the thing mentioned :
an Englishwoman
a businesswoman
a Congresswoman
a horsewoman
➡ note at gender
4.
[ C ] a female worker, especially one who works with her hands :
We used to have a woman to do the cleaning.
5.
[ sing. ] ( old-fashioned ) a rude way of addressing a female person in an angry or important way :
Be quiet, woman!
6.
[ C ] (sometimes disapproving ) a wife or sexual partner :
He's got a new woman in his life.
—see also fallen woman , kept woman , other woman
•
IDIOMS
- be your own man / woman
—more at heart , hell , honest , man noun , part noun , possessed , substance , world
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English wīfmon , -man (see wife , man ), a formation peculiar to English, the ancient word being wife .