wed
verb (used with object)
to marry (another person) in a formal ceremony.
Trivia Time
Where did Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer wed in 1981?
wed
1 American
[wed]
/ wษd /
verb (used with object)
-
weds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wed,
past participle, past
-
wedded,
past participle, past
-
wedding
present participle
-
to marry (another person) in a formal ceremony.
-
to unite (a couple) in marriage or wedlock; marry.
-
to bind by close or lasting ties; attach firmly.
She wedded herself to the cause of economic justice.
-
to blend together or unite inseparably.
a novel that weds style and content perfectly.
verb (used without object)
-
weds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wed,
past participle, past
-
wedded,
past participle, past
-
wedding
present participle
-
to contract marriage; marry.
-
to become united or to blend.
a building that will wed with the landscape.
we'd
2
American
[weed]
/ wid /
-
contraction of we had:
Sometimes I wish we'd bought a bigger house.
-
contraction of we would:
Of course we'd be happy to donate to the school's fundraiser.
Wed.
3
American
abbreviation
wed
1
British
/ wษd /
verb
-
to take (a person of the opposite sex) as a husband or wife; marry
-
(tr) to join (two people) in matrimony
-
(tr) to unite closely
Wed.
2
British
abbreviation
we'd
3
British
/ wษชd, wiหd /
contraction
Usage
See contraction.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wedsimple
-
wedssimple
-
have wedperfect
-
have weddedperfect
-
has wedperfect
-
has weddedperfect
-
am weddingprogressive
-
are weddingprogressive
-
is weddingprogressive
-
have been weddingperfect progressive
-
has been weddingperfect progressive
Past
-
wedsimple
-
weddedsimple
-
had wedperfect
-
had weddedperfect
-
was weddingprogressive
-
were weddingprogressive
-
had been weddingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wed
First recorded before 900; Middle English wedde, Old English weddian โto pledge, marry, get marriedโ; cognate with German wetten โto bet,โ Old Norse vethja โto pledgeโ
Explanation
To wed is to get married to someone. Your dream might be to wed your dream spouse in Hawaii some day. The verb wed is mainly used in a formal context โ marry is more common. You can also use either word to mean "join in marriage" or "perform a marriage ceremony," like when the Archbishop of Canterbury weds members of British royalty. Wed shares a Germanic root with words in various languages meaning "pledge," but also "bet or wager."
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:
In October, Mageean wed her long-term partner Thomas Moran in a small civil ceremony in Belfast.
From BBC โ Nov. 1, 2026
Berry and Martinez wed in France in July 2013, shortly after confirming they were expecting a baby together.
From Los Angeles Times โ Oct. 2, 2026
Brittany Bee was wed to a man when she was a teen.
From BBC โ Oct. 1, 2026
The problem is, the brand—and, to some extent, its management—is wed to a specific kind of go power: the charismatic flat-four engine and mechanically linked all-wheel drive.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 19, 2026
As we repair the fishnets we have fun guessing who Miss Ann Burras will pick if she gets permission to wed.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
Friends launched a campaign to raise £250,000 and reached their target in 12 weeks, with Sarah admitting she thought "we'd never make it in a million years".
From BBC โ Oct. 31, 2026
“I don’t think we’d see the same amount of interest if the law had not been passed,” King said.
From MarketWatch โ Oct. 30, 2026
This Halloween, if you’ll be debuting a costume inspired by weird and wonderful Los Angeles, we’d love to see it.
From Los Angeles Times โ Oct. 29, 2026
We assumed that our journey would be the same, that this house would be the first of many we’d attempt, and then fail, to acquire.
From Slate โ Oct. 28, 2026
Sometimes we’d play while sitting in the treehouse, both of us looking straight out at his grandma’s garden instead of at each other.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
“The US Supreme Court began hearing the Brunson case yesterday Wed. 21 June, continued today 22 June and should have a decision out by Saturday 24 June,” an Instagram post states.
From Seattle Times โ Jun. 30, 2023
Intended to cure loneliness on Wed. evenings and to allow people to get to know each other under circumstances other than formal MFU course.
From Salon โ May 12, 2019
Closed Wed. $10-$25; members and children 17 and under, free.
From Los Angeles Times โ Jun. 2, 2018
Film work, however illustrious, was almost an adjunct to the career and legacy of Ruby Dee, who died Wed. at 91 at her New Rochelle, N.Y., home.
From Time โ Jun. 12, 2014
Viewing will be at Snowberger’s at 7pm on Wed. evening, and visitation will be at 2pm before the funeral at 3pm on Thurs.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
Sophie Piper, who came third on their All Star season, and TikTok star GK Barry also shared their support with the newly weds.
From BBC โ Jul. 23, 2026
While Dbeibah has sought to consolidate his position with new roads, better power supplies or social benefits such as payouts to newly weds, faction leaders have complained about corruption in state spending.
From Reuters โ Aug. 17, 2023
Martin's "Fire & Blood," Alicent is 18 when she weds the 27-year-old Viserys, while Rhaenyra is only 9.
From Salon โ Sep. 4, 2022
Jules’s new moped doubles as a genre-movie gimmick that weds classicism and modernity.
From New York Times โ Apr. 28, 2022
“Yes, is she not lovely, though so sad! Her dress is well chosen, too, for in a week she weds Count Antonio, whom she passionately hates.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Cheetah Chrome’s trashy, thrashy playing in Dead Boys wedded the urgency of punk with devotion to older, sleazy rock ‘n’ roll.
From Los Angeles Times โ Sep. 28, 2026
They earn more than four times the average worker—the most seasoned pilots earn far more—but they have little control over the management of the company they have wedded themselves to.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 16, 2026
My wife, Elvira, and I celebrated our first wedded year atop the World Trade Center.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 9, 2026
Yes, he was so wedded to it, this idea that different, new mediums liberate the ones that come before.
From Salon โ Jul. 5, 2026
She felt veiled in cobwebs, a woman wedded to her family.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
"I was completely heartbroken when I found out my dad couldn't attend my wedding," Sinèad said.
From BBC โ Oct. 30, 2026
Sir Ian, a longtime friend of his X-Men co-star, who officiated his wedding in 2013, said Sir Patrick was "defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire".
From BBC โ Oct. 30, 2026
News of the Qualley-Antonoff split arose days after the latter was spotted attending Swift and Travis Kelce’s lavish wedding bash at New York City’s Madison Square Garden without his wife.
From Los Angeles Times โ Oct. 30, 2026
A royal wedding in Paris in the summer of 1572 was meant to ease tensions.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Oct. 28, 2026
It had been love at first sight, but I had insisted on a palace wedding.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ยฉ Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritageยฎ Idioms Dictionary copyright ยฉ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
