schoolmistress

noun

school·​mis·​tress ˈskül-ˌmi-strəs How to pronounce schoolmistress (audio)
Synonyms of schoolmistressnext
: a woman who teaches school
schoolmistressy
ˈskül-ˌmi-strə-sē How to pronounce schoolmistress (audio)
adjective

Examples of schoolmistress in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Usually, one schoolmistress declares her love to another and is rebuffed. — Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2018 The inspiration for Jean Brodie was a charismatic schoolmistress called Christina Kay. — Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 28 July 2020 The home above was empty, except for the small cry of a little girl (who had just received a good-night kiss but didn’t want to go to sleep), and the shadow of a hoop skirt, like a black devil in a perverse schoolmistress’s ankle boots. — Silvina Ocampo, The New Yorker, 11 July 2019 Four years later came her Oscar-winning portrayal of an idiosyncratic English schoolmistress in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. — Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2024 Among the middle and upper classes, music was generally seen as a female accomplishment, and teaching its rudiments to children was typically left to mothers, governesses, or schoolmistresses. — JSTOR Daily, 26 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of schoolmistress was in the 15th century

Rhymes for schoolmistress

See All Rhymes for schoolmistress

Browse Nearby Words

schoolmate
schoolmistress
schoolmistressy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Schoolmistress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schoolmistress. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

schoolmistress

noun
school·​mis·​tress -ˌmis-trəs How to pronounce schoolmistress (audio)
: a woman who teaches school

More from Merriam-Webster on schoolmistress

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for schoolmistress

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All