Meanings
plural kept women
- A woman who is supported financially by a lover (usually a married man).
"I'm a kept woman," she explained. "What else is any woman?"
1919, Jerome K. Jerome, chapter 5, in All Roads Lead to Calvary2 more examples
He said: "Why bother about a career? After all, kept woman is a thoroughly respectable occupation—or can be made so by any preacher or justice of the peace. . . ." "I could not belong to a man unless I cared for him," said she.
1912, David Graham Phillips, chapter 6, in The Price She PaidFannie Hurst's tender and moving biography of a kept woman is here reproduced in a sincere, detailed picture. Irene Dunne . . . falls in love with John Boles, a pedigreed young banker, who by a series of misunderstandings, makes her his mistress instead of his wife.
1932 August 8, “Cinema: The New Pictures”, in TimeSynonyms: sugar baby, doxy
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA woman who is supported financially by a lover (usually a married man).
More synonyms by meaning
nounan adulterous woman; a woman who has an ongoing extramarital sexual relationship with a man
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
French femme entretenue
- femme entretenuewoman supported financially by a lover
Hungarian kitartott nő
- kitartott nőwoman supported financially by a lover
Italian mantenuta
- mantenutawoman supported financially by a lover
Polish utrzymanka
- utrzymankawoman supported financially by a lover
Russian содержа́нка
- содержа́нка (soderžánka)woman supported financially by a lover
Spanish mantenida
- mantenidawoman supported financially by a lover
Cite this entry
kept woman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kept%20woman
“kept woman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kept%20woman. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kept woman,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kept%20woman.
Source: kept woman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.