bag lady

[ bag ley-dee ]

noun

1. Slang: Offensive. an unsheltered or homeless woman who lives and sleeps on city streets or in public places, often keeping all her belongings with her in shopping bags.
2. bagwoman.

bag lady

noun

1. a woman who is homeless and wanders city streets with all her possessions in shopping bags Also called (in full)shopping bag lady

Word History and Origins

Origin of bag lady¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Ms. Komar said: “That she was seen as some kind of bag lady, that her art gets overshadowed by those stories, makes us angry.”

From New York Times

The play is filled with outlandish characters — most conspicuously, Trudy, the bag lady, who has lost her mind and in the process has made contact with space aliens curious about higher consciousness on Earth.

From Los Angeles Times

A bag lady wearing a complicated mask dug into her luggage and produced filthy masks to offer those who had joyfully unmasked themselves.

From Washington Times

I explained that before “homeless person,” a lot of people used the terms “bag lady” or “bum.”

From Washington Post

“I am not the bag lady in ‘Home Alone 2.'”

From Fox News

Related Words

• homeless person
• shopping cart lady
• shopping-bag lady
• unhoused person