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.
Bridal magazines have long graced grocery aisles, but now there are publications marketing to the husband-to-be.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
The dresses used for the project were donated by Bijoux Bridal in Hamilton which is managed by former student Rebecca Kennedy.
From BBC • Nov. 25, 2024
Then there’s the merchandise — not just the stuffed corgis or Penelope T-shirts but also Maxbone pet accessories, Allure Bridal dresses, Risque nail polish and Izzy and Liv’s newly launched Bridgerton line.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2024
Its collapse, days after David’s Bridal, the wedding dress chain, also filed for bankruptcy, is the latest sign that the post-pandemic retail landscape boosted by free money and stimulus check spending is over.
From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2023
"Perhaps you've heard of Flora's Bridal Gowns? That's what I called my shop after my husband left. I don't know much about grooms' clothes, they're mostly rentals, anyway."
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
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.
