bridesmaid

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person, traditionally a woman, who attends and supports a bride at a wedding

   Her sister agreed to serve as chief bridesmaid at the ceremony.

2. 2
   noun

   figurative: a competitor who repeatedly comes close to winning but never finishes first

   After three runner-up finishes, the club was tired of being the league's bridesmaid.

3. 3
   verb

   to act as a bridesmaid for a bride

   She will bridesmaid for her oldest friend in June.

From bride + the connective -s- + maid. The figurative sporting and competitive sense comes from the saying 'always a bridesmaid, never a bride' for someone who repeatedly finishes second.

Topics