bridal
Americanadjective
noun
-
a wedding.
-
Archaic. a wedding feast.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bridal
before 1100; Middle English bridale wedding feast, Old English brȳdealu, equivalent to brȳd bride 1 + ealu ale, i.e., ale-drinking; now taken as bride 1 + -al 1
Explanation
Use the adjective bridal to talk about a wedding or a bride. A bridal bouquet is the arrangement of flowers the bride carries during a wedding ceremony. Usually the word bridal describes anything having to do with a bride, like the bridal veil or the bridal party, or the bride's friends and family. Sometimes bridal refers to the newlywed couple, like the bridal suite they might stay in at a hotel on their honeymoon. Remember, bridal has nothing to do with horses — that's bridle, which sounds the same but means part of a harness.
Vocabulary lists containing bridal
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 5
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Commonly Confused Words, List 7
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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.
She’s not giving up her bridal dreams, but she’s absolutely done being played for a fool.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
Aoife Boyle, a bridal make-up artist from Ballyshannon, County Donegal, became involved with the project through social media.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
I also want to remind you of something that I often forget when the costs of being in a bridal party starts adding up: Weddings are fun!
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 8, 2025
“His longer-term strategy, Grow Brand Love, which focuses on driving growth in self-purchase and gifting through design-led product, while continuing to expand in bridal, appears to be gaining traction.”
From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025
Edna was glad to be rid of her father when he finally took himself off with his wedding garments and his bridal gifts, with his padded shoulders, his Bible reading, his “toddies” and ponderous oaths.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
