This meaning refers to an official honorific title granted to women in certain countries.
Dame Helen received the award at the ceremony.
She was appointed a Dame for services to education.
This dated informal meaning refers to a woman and may sound disrespectful or old-fashioned today.
The detective spoke to an elegant dame at the bar.
Old films often used dame as slang for a woman.
In British pantomime, a dame is an exaggerated comic female role usually performed by a man.
The pantomime dame wore an enormous colorful dress.
A male actor traditionally plays the dame.
