maiden
gb/mˈeɪdən/ us/mˈeɪdən/
B2
English
~ 10000
Senses
0 senses
adjective
B2
property
1
happening for the first time
Happening for the first time, especially a trip, speech, game, or other public event.
Usage pattern:
maiden [noun]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes try to use 'maiden' to mean 'first' in everyday situations (e.g., 'my maiden day at work'). This sounds strange; use 'first day' instead. 'Maiden' is mostly used in fixed phrases like 'maiden voyage' or 'maiden speech'. Learners may also confuse this sense with the 'young woman' meaning, which is now rare and literary.
Synonyms
first (The most common general word; 'maiden' is more formal or used in set phrases.)
Antonyms
final (Describes the last time something happens, opposite of a first time.)
Collocations
maiden voyage
|maiden speech
|maiden flight
|maiden win
|maiden title
|maiden album
Themes
media
|travel
|sports
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The ship sank on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic.
- In his maiden speech to parliament, he promised major reforms.
- The airline celebrated the maiden flight of its new aircraft.
- She is hoping for her maiden win on the professional tennis tour.
- The band's maiden album quickly became a cult favorite.
Learner examples
- The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
- He was very nervous before his maiden speech in Congress.
- The company invited reporters to watch the plane's maiden flight.
- The driver took his maiden win in only his third race.
Noun
literary
C1
entity
2
young unmarried woman
A young woman who is not married, used mostly in old stories or very formal language.
Usage pattern:
a maiden
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use 'maiden' instead of 'girl' or 'young woman' in normal conversation. This sounds old-fashioned or poetic in modern English. Use 'girl' or 'young woman' for everyday speech, and reserve 'maiden' for stories, fantasy, or when you want a very literary effect.
Synonyms
young woman (A neutral, modern term; does not carry the old-fashioned or romantic tone of 'maiden'.)
Antonyms
wife (A woman who is married, contrasting with an unmarried 'maiden'.)
Collocations
fair maiden
|young maiden
|beautiful maiden
|village maiden
|maiden in distress
Themes
people
|relationships
|literature
|arts_entertainment
Examples
- The hero vowed to rescue the fair maiden from the tower.
- In the painting, a maiden stands alone by the river.
- Many folk songs tell of a maiden waiting for her lover to return from war.
- The story follows a young maiden who defies tradition to choose her own path.
Learner examples
- The knight wanted to save the maiden from danger.
- In the old story, a maiden waits by the sea.
- The painter shows a maiden in a long white dress.
- The song is about a lonely maiden in the forest.
adjective
archaic
C2
property
3
unmarried (of a woman)
Describes a woman who has never had a husband, used in very old or formal English.
Usage pattern:
maiden [female relative]
Common mistake:
Learners may try to use 'maiden' before many nouns like 'maiden woman' or 'maiden girl'. This sounds wrong in modern English. This sense survives mainly in fixed phrases like 'maiden aunt'. In normal speech, use 'single' or 'unmarried' instead.
Synonyms
unmarried (Neutral and modern; can describe any adult without a spouse, not only women.)
Antonyms
married (Describes someone who has a husband or wife, the opposite of 'maiden' in this sense.)
Collocations
maiden aunt
|maiden sister
|maiden lady
|maiden daughter
Themes
relationships
|social
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She lived a quiet life as a maiden aunt in the family home.
- His three maiden sisters shared the large house between them.
- The will left a small allowance to his maiden cousin.
- In the novel, a maiden daughter is expected to care for her parents.
Learner examples
- His maiden aunt never married.
- In the old book, two maiden sisters live together.
- The family depends on their maiden daughter for help.
- The maiden cousin looks after the children in the story.
Noun
technical
C2
entity
4
racehorse with no wins
In horse racing, a horse that has never won a race.
Usage pattern:
[a horse] is a maiden
Common mistake:
Learners outside horse racing may misunderstand 'maiden' here as 'young woman'. In racing news or betting contexts, 'a maiden' almost always means a horse with no wins, not a person.
Synonyms
winless horse (An explanatory phrase; less technical and not a fixed racing term.)
Antonyms
winner (Any horse that has won a race, the opposite status of a 'maiden'.)
Collocations
a maiden
|maiden race
|maiden hurdle
|maiden stakes
Themes
sports
|gambling
|animals
Examples
- The three-year-old is still a maiden after six starts.
- She finally broke her maiden in a low-level claiming race.
- The trainer believes the colt is the best maiden in the yard.
- He specializes in improving older maidens who have shown promise.
Learner examples
- The horse is a maiden and has not won yet.
- He hopes his new horse will break its maiden soon.
- She watches a race only for maidens at the local track.
- The trainer wants to find an easy race for his maiden.
Noun
technical
C2
event
5
cricket over with no runs
In cricket, an over where the batting team does not score any runs at all.
Usage pattern:
to bowl a maiden
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize that in cricket, 'a maiden' on its own means 'a maiden over'. It always refers to bowling, not to a person, in this context.
Synonyms
maiden over (The more explicit fixed phrase; 'maiden' alone is often short for this.)
Antonyms
expensive over (A bowling over that concedes many runs, opposite in effect to a maiden.)
Collocations
bowl a maiden
|maiden over
|tight maiden
|two maidens in a row
Themes
sports
Examples
- The fast bowler opened with two maidens to build early pressure.
- She bowled a maiden after being hit for ten runs in her first over.
- A maiden at this stage of the chase could turn the game around.
- He has already delivered three maidens in his spell.
Learner examples
- The bowler bowls a maiden and the crowd cheers.
- He starts the match with a maiden over.
- They need runs, but the bowler sends down a maiden.
- She is happy because she bowled two maidens today.
Grammar
Dictionary form
maiden
IPA
GB/mˈeɪdən/
US/mˈeɪdən/
Syllables & stress
maid - en (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (maid)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: maiden
Noun
- Base: maiden
- Plural: maidens
Word family
Forms
maidens
noun
Core family
maid
noun A2
Related words
maidenly
adjective
Advanced or less common
maidenhood
noun
Expressions
fair maiden
1/fˈɛɹ mˈeɪdən/
fixed phrase
literary
pretty young unmarried woman
A young unmarried woman who is called pretty or beautiful, used in old stories and poems.
Examples
- The ballad tells of a knight and a fair maiden.
- Painters often showed fair maidens in flowing dresses.
- He jokingly referred to his date as a 'fair maiden'.
maiden aunt
1/mˈeɪdən ˈænt/
fixed phrase
literary
unmarried aunt
An aunt who has never married, especially in old-fashioned or storybook descriptions.
Examples
- He grew up in the care of a strict maiden aunt.
- The old house was left to a lonely maiden aunt.
- In many novels, the maiden aunt is a quiet, watching figure.
maiden flight
1/mˈeɪdən flˈaɪt/
fixed phrase
first flight of new aircraft
The first time a new airplane, rocket, or similar vehicle flies.
Examples
- The jet's maiden flight lasted just over two hours.
- Engineers were on board to monitor systems during the maiden flight.
- The rocket's maiden flight was delayed due to bad weather.
maiden name
1/mˈeɪdən nˈeɪm/
fixed phrase
a woman's birth surname
The last name a woman had before she got married, if she later changed her name.
Examples
- Please write your maiden name as it appears on your birth certificate.
- She kept her maiden name after the wedding for professional reasons.
- The form asks for both your current surname and your maiden name.
maiden over
1/mˈeɪdən ˈoʊvɚ/
fixed phrase
technical
cricket over with no runs
In cricket, an over where the batting team does not score any runs at all.
Examples
- The bowler opened with a tight maiden over.
- A maiden over at this stage puts huge pressure on the batting side.
- She settled her nerves by delivering a maiden over straight away.
maiden speech
1/mˈeɪdən spˈit͡ʃ/
fixed phrase
formal
first formal speech in office
The first serious or official speech that a person gives in a new job, especially in a parliament.
Examples
- The new MP delivered her maiden speech to a packed chamber.
- He used his maiden speech to call for urgent climate action.
- Traditionally, a maiden speech is not interrupted by hostile questions.
maiden title
1/mˈeɪdən tˈaɪtəl/
fixed phrase
first championship title
The first big competition or season title that someone or a team wins.
Examples
- The victory secured her maiden Grand Slam title.
- They are hoping to claim their maiden league title this year.
- He finally lifted his maiden world title after years of trying.
maiden win
1/mˈeɪdən wˈɪn/
fixed phrase
first victory in competition
The first time a player, team, or horse wins a game, race, or other competition.
Examples
- She took her maiden win on the World Cup circuit last season.
- The driver celebrated his maiden win in Formula One.
- The team is still looking for its maiden win of the campaign.
maiden voyage
1/mˈeɪdən vˈɔɪɪd͡ʒ/
fixed phrase
first journey of a ship etc.
The first trip that a new ship, boat, or sometimes another vehicle makes.
Examples
- The ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912.
- The luxury liner sank on its maiden voyage.
- The airline celebrated the maiden voyage of its new plane.
- Thousands of people watched the ferry's maiden voyage across the bay.
- The spacecraft completed its maiden voyage without any major problems.