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.
Shatz has also been invited to bachelorette parties even when she is not a member of a bridal party, or close to a bride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Thousands of them, dressed in cat ears, bridal gowns and elaborate floral headpieces.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
She’s not giving up her bridal dreams, but she’s absolutely done being played for a fool.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
Pants and cuffs still need to be hemmed to say nothing of bridal, prom and other special-occasion clothes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
Mr. Pontellier had selected the bridal gift, as everyone immediately connected with him always deferred to his taste in such matters.
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.
