A maid is a female domestic servant who helps to keep a house in order. Although maids were at one point part of an elaborate system of household staff, in many modern homes a maid works alone, performing a variety of tasks. Depending on the social standing of the household she works for, a maid may have full time employment caring for one home, or may work on contract cleaning multiple homes, as is the case with a maid who works for a maid service. In this instance, the maid is primarily responsible for cleaning, but no other tasks.

The term “maid” is related to an archaic word used to refer to young, unmarried women. Many of these maids went to serve in large households, either in the position of a lady's companion if they were well educated, or in the position of a house maid. Working as a maid would have been a respectable occupation, especially for a woman who decided never to marry, and could work her way through the ranks to become a housekeeper or head of staff.

In more formal households, a series of maids work in various positions around the house. A head maid manages most of the household staff, and various maids work under her to clean, assist the cook, do laundry, and attend to the needs of members of the household. A less formal but still reasonably wealthy household may hire a full-time maid to keep the house in order, cook, shop, do laundry, and assist with child and pet care.

Whether a maid works singly full time or as a member of household staff, she is usually live-in, so that her services are available at all times. The salary for this type of maid is comparable to other jobs in the service industry, and she may come to be regarded as a member of the family. This is especially the case if she assists with child care, as children may grow attached to the maid in her position of caregiver.

On the lower end of the scale, a maid may act as a cleaning lady. Many households hire a maid service to clean for a few hours each week or month. In this instance, the maid performs basic cleaning tasks, but does not do household shopping, assist with cooking, or care for children. Hotel maids and cleaning ladies who work for large businesses fall into this category of employment.