Ma'am Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of ma'am is madam —used without a name as a form of respectful or polite address to a woman. How to use ma'am in a sentence. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut ma'am noun SaveWord \ˈmam ,after"yes"oftenəm\ Definitionofma'am :madam —usedwithoutanameasaformofrespectfulorpoliteaddresstoawomanThankyou,ma'am."Yes,ma'am.Comein,ma'am.I'lltellMissLavendaryou'rehere,ma'am.She'supstairs,ma'am."—LucyMaudMontgomery"Mydearma'am,"saidtheparson,replyinginpreferencetothelady…—EdwardBulwer-LyttonShelookeddownathimandsaid,"Hemostcertainlyisalargedog.""Yesma'am,"Itoldher."Hehasalargeheart,too."—KateDiCamillo Examplesofma'aminaSentence RecentExamplesontheWeb Perhapsmyoveralldisappointmentstemsfromthispilotstiffness,butthemorelikelyculpritisthestandardbrashnessofAmericanrealitytelevision,whichislesscinemavéritéandmorewham-bam-thank-you-ma'am. — RobynBahr,TheHollywoodReporter,4Feb.2020 No,ma'am—gettingsickisdefinitelynotworthskippingashortblow-drysesh. — EmilieBranch,Allure,4Oct.2018 ButlikemuchoftheSouth,please,thankyou,sir,ma'am,andagoodhelpingofeyecontactareallthenorm. — MeredithCarey,CondéNastTraveler,26Feb.2018 Butthere'ssomethinginmyroomthatdoesn'tfeelrightma'am. — CountryLiving,26Oct.2016 No,ma'am—gettingsickisdefinitelynotworthskippingashortblow-drysesh. — EmilieBranch,Allure,4Oct.2018 Butthere'ssomethinginmyroomthatdoesn'tfeelrightma'am. — CountryLiving,26Oct.2016 ButlikemuchoftheSouth,please,thankyou,sir,ma'am,andagoodhelpingofeyecontactareallthenorm. — MeredithCarey,CondéNastTraveler,26Feb.2018 JoshHedrick[incourt]:Giveusyournameplease,ma'am. — ErinMoriarty,CBSNews,30Sep.2017 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'ma'am.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofma'am 1668,inthemeaningdefinedabove LearnMoreAboutma'am Sharema'am PosttheDefinitionofma'amtoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofma'amonTwitter TimeTravelerforma'am Thefirstknownuseofma'amwas in1668 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear DictionaryEntriesNearma'am ma'abara ma'am ma'amselle SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforma'am Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Ma'am.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ma%27am.Accessed29Nov.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforma'am ma'am noun EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofma'am —usedtopolitelyspeaktoawomanwhoyoudonotknow —usedtospeaktotheQueenortoawomanofhighrankinthepoliceormilitary Seethefulldefinitionforma'amintheEnglishLanguageLearnersDictionary ma'am noun \ˈmam \ KidsDefinitionofma'am :madam MorefromMerriam-Websteronma'am Nglish:Translationofma'amforSpanishSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY obfuscate SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary FarmIdiomsQuiz Whatdoes'poke'refertointheexpression'piginapoke'? stable bag mudpit stateofdifficulty Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethingalongtheway. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay “InVinoVeritas”andOtherLatinPhrasestoLiveBy Top10LatinPhrases Merriam-Webster'sWordsoftheWeek-Nov.26 Fromtheweekending11/26/2021 What'sthePastTenseof'Green-light'? Istheprojectgreen-lighted?Orgreenlit? 10WordsforthePost-MealWalk Justtogetthebloodflowing AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames NameThoseHerbsandSpices Howmanydoyouknow? Takethequiz NameThatEmotion It'sawholemood Takethequiz TrueorFalse? Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethinga... Takethequiz