noun
Common
mistress
MIHS-trihs
Mistress (noun) means a woman having an ongoing romantic or sexual relationship with a man who is married to someone else. Example: “In the old novel, the king's mistress lived in a grand house outside the city.”
noun
1
A woman having an ongoing romantic or sexual relationship with a man who is married to someone else.
"In the old novel, the king's mistress lived in a grand house outside the city."
"Did you know that the painter once kept a mistress in Paris?"
"The scandal broke when his mistress went to the press."
2
A woman in a position of authority or control, or the female head of a household.
"She was the mistress of the estate-mansion, and owned the horses."
"She was the mistress of the estate for over thirty years."
"At the far end of the houses the head gardener stood waiting for his mistress, and he gave her strips of bass to tie up her nosegay. This she did slowly and laboriously, with knuckly old fingers that shook."
— William Babington Maxwell (1918)
How to use mistress
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTraditionally, the female counterpart of "master" — either a woman in charge, or a man's secret romantic partner outside marriage.
Common pairings
keep a mistress
mistress of the house
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Word forms
- Third person singular
- mistresses
- Past tense
- mistressed
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
In the old novel, the king's _____ lived in a grand house outside the city.
Etymology
From Old French maistresse, the feminine form of maistre, "master."
Synonyms
View more →Antonyms
Related words
Rhymes for mistress
See all rhymes for mistress →Frequently asked questions
Does mistress always refer to a romantic relationship?
No, mistress has a second, unrelated sense referring to a woman in a position of authority or control, or the female head of a household, as in "mistress of the estate." This meaning has nothing to do with romantic relationships.
Is mistress a term still commonly used today?
The word is somewhat dated but still understood and used, particularly in discussions of historical relationships, literature, or when describing a woman's romantic involvement with a married man. The "head of household" sense also survives in more formal or historical contexts, such as "headmistress."
What is the meaning of mistress?
"mistress" (noun) means a woman having an ongoing romantic or sexual relationship with a man who is married to someone else.
What is another word for mistress?
Other words for "mistress" include paramour, lover, matriarch, lady of the house, schoolmarm, schoolmistress.
