Definition of "old maid" []

• Offensive A woman who has remained single beyond the conventional age for marrying. (noun)
• Informal A person regarded as being primly fastidious. (noun)
• Games A card game in which the player who holds a designated card at the end is the loser. (noun)
• Games The loser of this game. (noun)
• Chiefly Southern U.S. See zinnia. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The old maid stared at him, a half-amused smile playing over her thin face."
• "A young lieutenant at the Academy and his fiancée were seen by an old maid at the hotel to kiss each other."
• "Miss Bentley was a shallow old maid with a rather large nose and romantic disposition who served tea with a careful intensity worthy of a sacrament."