First Lady

noun

variants or first lady
plural First Ladies or first ladies
1
: the wife or female partner of the chief executive of a country or jurisdiction
It is a reminder of just how peculiar the role of First Lady is in American public life. She has a job with no salary, a platform with no power, an East Wing filled with staff but no budget.Jonathan Van Meter
As a supermodel, singer-songwriter, and former first lady of France, no one has had a career quite like Carla Bruni. Since her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, left office in 2012, Bruni has focused on her music.Janelle Okwodu
also : someone who is not the wife or female partner of a chief executive but who fulfills the public duties of a First Lady
Unique among First Ladies, Harriet Lane acted as hostess for the only President who never married: James Buchanan, her favorite uncle and her guardian after she was orphaned at the age of eleven. Allida Black
2
: the leading woman of an art or profession
Back before Mobb Deep, before the whole Juice Crew, the first MC to blow up big out of the Bridge was hip hop's universally recognized First Lady, Roxanne Shanté.Sacha Jenkins
Carolyn Wells is the first lady of barbecue—alongside her late husband Gary Wells and friend Rick Welch, the three founded the Kansas City Barbeque Society in 1986.Damian Dominguez

Examples of First Lady in a Sentence

The President and the First Lady attended the concert. the first lady of American dance
Recent Examples on the Web So let that shine through in your speech — and don't forget to save a dance for the First Lady in the East room. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 7 Mar. 2024 Elevate has hosted global icons such as First Lady & Author Michelle Obama, Businesswoman & TV personality Martha Stewart, CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman, Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and U.S. Vice President Al Gore, each of whom has inspired millions of people. Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2024 Hager asked Kotb, 50, while donning the retro hairstyle, referring to former First Lady Laura Bush. Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 4 Mar. 2024 On a crisp afternoon in late January, Biden and the First Lady boarded Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, for a short hop to Manassas, Virginia, where George Mason University has a campus. Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Videos that circulated on social media following First Lady Jill Biden's speech in Tucson on Saturday showed a pro-Palestinian protester being grabbed by surrounding attendees before being escorted out by security. Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 3 Mar. 2024 But how would her stepmother, former First Lady Melania Trump, feel about that? Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024 Gilpin will star as Crete Garfield, the First Lady and President Garfield’s wife. Joe Otterson, Variety, 28 Feb. 2024 According to Rogers’s book, the first lady vs. first daughter power struggle began with Ivanka's attempts to take over the White House's East Wing (traditionally the domain of the First Lady), while Melania was still in New York City to let her son, Barron, finish out the school year. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'First Lady.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1677, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of First Lady was in 1677

Dictionary Entries Near First Lady

Cite this Entry

“First Lady.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/First%20Lady. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

first lady

noun
often capitalized F&L
: the wife or hostess of the male chief executive of a state or nation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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