Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

old maid

/əʊld meɪd/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.85 in modern English

Syllables
old -maid
IPA
/əʊld meɪd/
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An old woman who has never married; a spinster.

Countable; Derogatory; Uncountable

noun

The Madagascar periwinkle.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The common zinnia.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An unpopped kernel in a batch of popped popcorn kernels.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A card game in which cards must be paired and one unmatchable card is designated "old maid".

Uncountable

noun

The unmatchable card in that game.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A children's card game, sometimes played with a special deck, where the object of the game is for each player to find matches for all the cards in his hand, without being stuck with the single unmatchable card.

Uncountable

noun

The unmatchable card itself.

Countable

Example Sentences

Usage

Inflected Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce old maid?
The recorded pronunciation is /əʊld meɪd/.
What does old maid mean?
An old woman who has never married; a spinster.

How to pronounce old maid

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “old maid”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/əʊld meɪd/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “old maid”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “old maid” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.