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bride price

American

Or bride-price

noun

(in some nonindustrial societies) the money or goods given to the family of a bride by the bridegroom or his family.

bride price British

noun

(in some societies) money, property, or services given by a bridegroom to the kinsmen of his bride in order to establish his rights over the woman

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bride price

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

bride price

Many families also demand a high "bride price", a longstanding Chinese custom where the groom's family gives money to the bride.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

When David refuses, insisting on marrying his true love, the king demands a disgusting bride price.

From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026

If no bride price had been paid and the husband was a noble, he was required to pay his wife one mina of silver, the equivalent of about a year’s wage for an average worker.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

Like most Gazan grooms, he needed to pay a bride price, in his case about $3,500, to the bride’s parents.

From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2021

The Prince of Dragonflies loved Jenny of Oldstones so much he cast aside a crown, and Westeros paid the bride price in corpses.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023