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
Jonathan Van MeterAs 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
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
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
Sacha JenkinsCarolyn 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
Damian DominguezExamples 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
Ratner and the First Lady have all defended the steep cost of the film, which cost $40 million to make and another $35 million to market – outlandish sums for a documentary.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 20 May 2026
This First Lady of Final Girls has long since retired from the business, and now resides in the middle of nowhere in the snowy Pacific Northwest.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2026
Measured rehabilitation of the First Lady’s character has been the dominant mode of Mary Lincoln biography for more than seventy years.
—Thomas Mallon, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
On the day of his 1961 inauguration, the family was photographed departing the N Street residence and President Kennedy and the First Lady sold the roughly 6,000-square-foot home shortly after moving into the White House.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 18 May 2026
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Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 20 May 2026
This First Lady of Final Girls has long since retired from the business, and now resides in the middle of nowhere in the snowy Pacific Northwest.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2026
Measured rehabilitation of the First Lady’s character has been the dominant mode of Mary Lincoln biography for more than seventy years.
—Thomas Mallon, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
On the day of his 1961 inauguration, the family was photographed departing the N Street residence and President Kennedy and the First Lady sold the roughly 6,000-square-foot home shortly after moving into the White House.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for First Lady
Cite this Entry
“First Lady.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/First%20Lady. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
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