Meaning of trophy wife | Babel Free

Definitions

A wife, usually young and attractive, regarded as a status symbol for her husband, usually older and affluent.

derogatory, idiomatic, informal

Equivalents

Examples

“[…] while Mrs. Scott-Baxter, his fourth (and trophy) wife, blonde and young and bored, glowered at the Baxter spawn like a mother mink in a mink farm, just waiting for a jet to strafe the facility, affording her an excuse to feign terror and eat her young.”

“But don't expect this one to break up. Arnold [Schwarzenegger] got his trophy wife—a real-life Kennedy, his entreé to the top social echelons in the country—and he's not about to let her go.”

“"Women considered trophy wives are accomplished and ambitious," she reported, "in both their careers and their lives. […] On what was trophy wife bottomed, as they say at the Supreme Court?”

“‘She's with her nanny.’ ‘Oh yeah, I forgot. You're a proper trophy wife now. Staff and everything. Well…’ She produced a bottle of cava from a plastic bag. ‘With no child to keep up appearances for, let's get ourselves in the mood.’”

“She was David's fourth wife. Twenty-four years his junior, they both knew why they were together. David was filthy rich, and Belinda was a trophy wife. In fact, this was her third time around in this career: Being a trophy wife.”

CEFR level