old maid

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If they chance upon the foul water, they are set to marry a widow or widower and if they choose the empty dish "the person is destined to be a bachelor or an old maid".

From Salon • Oct. 30, 2023

Still, we suspect that she is a sad case, a solitary old maid gabbing to her niece about happier times.

From The New Yorker • May 1, 2017

“Your piano’s an old maid with a gray tabby on her lap,” Rosetta says bluntly.

From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2016

There are no squeaking dolls or loyal little wives here, no old maid scientists — and if there were, woe betide anyone who took them at face value.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2015

“Don’t be alarmed. I’m not one of the agreeable sort. Nobody will want me, and it’s a mercy, for there should always be one old maid in a family.”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott