ma'am

Questions about ma'am

What does ma'am mean?

ma'am means "a woman of refinement".

How many syllables are in ma'am?

ma'am has 1 syllable: ma'am. In IPA it is /ˈmæm/.

What is another word for ma'am?

Close synonyms include dame, madam, lady, gentlewoman. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is ma'am a common word?

ma'am is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.