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# madam

«madam» in Mova's school dictionary: **a polite way to speak to a woman whose name you do not…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (madam, madams; mesdames as a very formal plural)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (polite) Madam is a polite way to speak to a woman whose name you do not know, used by shop staff, waiters and in letters: «Dear Madam». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/#m1)

2) Madam is used before a title when speaking to a woman in an important job: Madam Chair, Madam President. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/#m2)

3) (UK, informal) A little madam is a girl who is bossy, cheeky or spoilt. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In shops and restaurants: «Can I help you, madam?» In formal letters: «Dear Sir or Madam». At home (UK): «Don't you speak to me like that, young madam!»

### examples

- «Can I take your coat, madam?» asked the waiter. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/#x1)
- I began my letter with «Dear Sir or Madam». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/#x2)
- Thank you, Madam Speaker. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/#x3)
- Gran called my sister a little madam when she sulked. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/#x4)
- «This way, madam,» said the usher. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/#x5)
- Excuse me, madam, you dropped your glove. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/#x6)

### note

Matching word for men: sir. «Ma'am» is a short form, very common in the USA and used for the Queen or King's family in the UK. Do not say «Madam Smith» in everyday English; use «Mrs/Ms Smith».

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «madam» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/madam/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.