1. plural of schoolmarm: female schoolteachers, especially in rural or one-room schools
Usage: dated; sometimes considered old-fashioned
2. plural of schoolmarm: women who are strict, prim, or overly concerned with proper behavior and rules
Usage: informal; sometimes mildly derogatory

Examples

• The old schoolmarms taught multiple grades in the same classroom.
• Many pioneer schoolmarms traveled west to educate frontier children.
• The town’s elderly schoolmarms were respected for their dedication to education.
• Some people called them schoolmarms because they always corrected others’ grammar.
• The committee was full of schoolmarms who insisted on following every rule precisely.
• Historical records show that schoolmarms often boarded with local families.