What does stewardess mean?
Word: Stewardess
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Stewardess means a woman whose job is to look after passengers on a plane or ship. Many airlines now use the term flight attendant.
Synonyms: flight attendant
How do you spell stewardess?
Syllables: stew - ard - ess
Tricky part: The middle is ard, not erd, and the word ends in a double s. Many students write stewerdess or drop one s.
Watch out for: stewerdess, stewardes, stuardess, stewardress
Memory tip: The word ward is hidden inside stewardess: spot it and you will not write the ard as erd.
Stewardess in a sentence
Example 1: The stewardess showed us how to fasten the seat belt.
Example 2: My aunt worked as a stewardess on a cruise ship before she became a teacher.
Example 3: In old films, the stewardess often wears a small hat and gloves.
Fun Fact
Ellen Church, a trained nurse, became one of the first airline stewardesses in 1930, flying for Boeing Air Transport in the United States.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix ess to form a real word. Choose it:
ess
a) steward
b) driver
c) pilot
d) farmer
Show answer
a) steward. Ess makes a job title only with some words; English has no farmeress, driveress or pilotess.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
stewwardess
a) s
b) w
c) d
d) e
Show answer
b) w. Stewardess has a single w, shared by stew and the ard that follows it.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. stewardess 2. pasport 3. passenger 4. luggage
a) a woman who serves travellers on board
b) a document you need to travel abroad
c) a person travelling in a vehicle
d) the bags and cases packed for a trip
Show answer
b) a document you need to travel abroad. Passport is pass + port, so it keeps the double s of pass.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word 'stewardess' as used in the sentence:
Soon after take-off, the stewardess walked down the aisle with a trolley of snacks and tea.
a) tour guide
b) ground staff
c) co-pilot
d) air hostess
Show answer
d) air hostess. An air hostess does the same job on board; the co-pilot helps fly the plane and ground staff work at the airport.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is part of a stewardess's work?
a) checking the engines
b) serving meals to passengers
c) loading the cargo
d) steering the plane
Show answer
b) serving meals to passengers
2. Which announcement would you expect to hear from a stewardess?
a) Please put your tray tables up for landing.
b) Please collect your bats from the kit room.
c) Please keep your phones off during the test.
d) Please return your library books by Friday.
Show answer
a) Please put your tray tables up for landing.
