1 maiden | Definition of maiden

maiden

noun
maid·​en | \ ˈmā-dᔊn How to pronounce maiden (audio) \

Definition of maiden

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an unmarried girl or woman : maid
2 : a former Scottish beheading device resembling the guillotine (see guillotine sense 1)
3 : a horse that has never won a race

maiden

adjective

Definition of maiden (Entry 2 of 2)

1a(1) : not married a maiden aunt
(2) : virgin

b of a female animal

(1) : never yet mated
(2) : never having borne young
2 : of, relating to, or befitting a maiden
3 : first, earliest a ship's maiden voyage the maiden flight of a spacecraft

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms & Antonyms for maiden

Synonyms: Noun

damsel, demoiselle, girl, maid, miss

Synonyms: Adjective

earliest, first, foremost, headmost, inaugural, initial, leadoff, original, pioneer, premier, virgin

Antonyms: Adjective

final, last, latest, latter, terminal, terminating, ultimate

Visit the Thesaurus for More 

Examples of maiden in a Sentence

Noun

a story about a courageous knight who rescues a fair maiden a story about a beautiful maiden and her mysterious father

Adjective

the maiden issue of a new magazine a politician giving his maiden speech in the Senate
See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Leucothia, who won a maiden-claiming race by 14œ lengths under jockey Abel Cedillo, runs in the Del Mar Debutante. Larry Stumes, SFChronicle.com, "This week at Golden Gate Fields, Aug. 29-Sept. 2," 28 Aug. 2019 Three races for maidens, three claimers and one allowance/optional claimer. John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, "Racing! Welcome back to Golden Gate," 15 Aug. 2019 There are seven races starting at 2 p.m., four of them are claimers and four of them involve maidens. John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, "Racing! Will the downhill turf races return?," 25 July 2019 With their cool, precise lighting, her portrayals bring to mind Renaissance images of Eve, or perhaps pre-Raphaelite maidens freed of their Victorian garb. Steven Litt, cleveland.com, "Transformer Station’s “I Sing the Body’’ surveys photographic interpretation of the human form," 14 July 2019 This star represents a grain of wheat being held by the maiden. Arnold Pearlstein, sun-sentinel.com, "The Stars This Week: July 7 - 13," 7 July 2019 The unicorn has long been a fierce symbol of Scotland, known as a powerful and mysterious creature—lured forth only by a maiden—whose horn could purify water. James Hookway, WSJ, "Unicorn, Comeback Symbol of Scottish Independence, Is a Hit With Little Girls," 4 June 2019 This beauty is the most brilliant member of the constellation Virgo and represents a grain of wheat being held by this celestial maiden. Arnold Pearlstein, sun-sentinel.com, "The Stars this Week: June 9-15," 9 June 2019 That came after a pair of second-place finishes after Joevia broke his maiden the first time out on July 15, 2018. Mark Inabinett | [email protected], al.com, "Belmont Stakes 2019: Meet the contenders and watch them run," 3 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

United will hope to clinch their maiden road victory of the campaign at St. Mary's Stadium. SI.com, "Southampton vs. Manchester United Live Stream: Watch Premier League Online, TV," 31 Aug. 2019 Scheduled to make its maiden voyage in January 2022, the Disney Wish will feature approximately 1,250 guest staterooms. Hannah Chubb, PEOPLE.com, "Disney Cruise Lines Reveals a New Ship (and Island Getaway) — See the Disney Wish!," 28 Aug. 2019 Alec Benjamin launches onto Billboard’s Social 50 chart for the first time, while Normani scores her maiden top 10 on the Aug. 31-dated tally. Kevin Rutherford, Billboard, "Alec Benjamin Scores Social 50 Debut Thanks to Jimin Photo, Normani Blasts Into Top 10," 28 Aug. 2019 Last week, the Akademik Lomonosov left the Arctic port of Murmansk in northwestern Russia and will travel 3,100 miles on its maiden journey to the port of Pevek on the Chukotka Peninsula in the East. Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, "Russia is Sailing a 'Floating Chernobyl' Into the Arctic," 26 Aug. 2019 But the backdrop of their maiden meeting — the Group of Seven Summit — underscores the limitations of a personal friendship. NBC News, "The Trump-Boris Johnson relationship is set to get a key test at G-7 meeting," 23 Aug. 2019 The Titanic's fate was sealed on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. National Geographic, "How the Titanic was lost and found," 22 Aug. 2019 Thursday was the last practice before Zac Taylor's maiden voyage as an NFL head coach and the 10th coach in Bengals history opened his press conference Thursday by presenting an unsolicited list of who will not be on the field Saturday night. Adam Baum, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Bengals notes: Who's not playing Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs?," 3 Aug. 2019 The Florida Jaguares High School team made its maiden voyage to the USA Rugby Regional Cup Tournament and captured third place. Emmett Hall, sun-sentinel.com, "Florida Jaguares roar to back-to-back regional rugby titles," 1 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'maiden.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of maiden

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

History and Etymology for maiden

Noun and Adjective

Middle English, from Old English mĂŠgden, mÇŁden, diminutive of mĂŠgeth; akin to Old High German magad maiden, Old Irish mug serf

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for maiden

maiden

noun

English Language Learners Definition of maiden

 (Entry 1 of 2)

old-fashioned + literary : a young girl or woman who is not married

maiden

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of maiden (Entry 2 of 2)

of a woman, old-fashioned : not married
: coming before all others : first or earliest

maiden

noun
maid·​en |