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

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

And oddities, like a photo of a policeman judging an ankle competition or a carte-de-visite of a sad old maid with a reverse Mohawk, offer an easy chuckle.

From Slate • Feb. 6, 2014

Miss Tynmore, the tiny, bright chirping old maid who gave Mama music lessons, was just like the canary whose cage hung in her kitchen.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith