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spinster

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈspɪnstər/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈspɪnstɚ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(spinstər)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
spin•ster /ˈspɪnstɚ/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. a woman who has remained unmarried.
spin•ster•hood, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
spin•ster  (spinstər),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a woman still unmarried beyond the usual age of marrying.
  2. Law[Chiefly Law.]a woman who has never married.
  3. a woman whose occupation is spinning.
  • Middle English spinnestere a woman who spins. See spin, -ster 1325–75
spinster•hood′, n. 
spinster•ish, adj. 
spinster•ish•ly, adv. 
spinster•like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
spinster /ˈspɪnstə/ n
  1. old-fashioned an unmarried woman regarded as being beyond the age of marriage
  2. (in legal documents) a woman who has never married
  3. (formerly) a woman who spins thread for her living
Etymology: 14th Century (in the sense: a person, esp a woman, whose occupation is spinning; C17: a woman still unmarried): from spin + -sterˈspinsterˌhood n ˈspinsterish adj
'spinster' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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