Skip to content
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

duchess

/ˈdʌtʃəs/

Press play to hear how to pronounce duchess.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:49
Watch on YouTube ↗

What does duchess mean?

noun

  1. The wife or widow of a duke.
  2. The female ruler of a duchy.

verb

  1. (informal) To court or curry favour for political or business advantage; to flatter obsequiously.
More meanings (1)

proper noun

  1. A village in Alberta, Canada.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈdʌtʃəs/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

She kept her children in the schools of the duke and duchess until they had completed the entire course open to them.
Anna Howard Shaw; Elizabeth Garver JordanThe Story of a PioneerProject Gutenberg ebook #354
Then, the little boat rowed away to Dover beach, where the body was cast out, and left until the duchess claimed it.
Charles DickensA Child's History of EnglandProject Gutenberg ebook #699
More book examples (3)
She had quite forgotten the Duchess by this time, and was a little startled when she heard her voice close to her ear.
Lewis CarrollAlice's Adventures in WonderlandProject Gutenberg ebook #11
After breakfast, he walked with the duchess for an hour in the garden and then drove across the park to join the shooting-party.
Oscar WildeThe Picture of Dorian GrayProject Gutenberg ebook #174
Newman hardly knew what to say, though it seemed that to a duchess who joked about her corpulence one might say almost anything.
Henry JamesThe AmericanProject Gutenberg ebook #177