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Synonyms

bride

1 American  
[brahyd] / braɪd /

noun

  1. a newly married woman or a woman about to be married.

bride 2 American  
[brahyd, breed] / braɪd, brid /

noun

  1. Also called bar, leg, tie.  a connection consisting of a thread or a number of threads for joining various solid parts of a design in needlepoint lace.

  2. an ornamental bonnet string.

Bride 3 American  
[brahyd] / braɪd /

noun

  1. Saint. Brigid, Saint.

Bride 1 British  
/ braɪd /

noun

  1. See Bridget

"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
bride 2 British  
/ braɪd /

noun

  1. a woman who has just been or is about to be married

"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
bride 3 British  
/ braɪd /

noun

  1. Also called: bar.  lacemaking needlework a thread or loop that joins parts of a pattern

"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
bride Idioms  

  1. see give away (the bride).

Other Word Forms

  • brideless adjective
  • bridelike adjective

Etymology

Origin of bride1

before 1000; Middle English; Old English brȳd; cognate with Dutch bruid, German Braut, Old Norse brūthr, Gothic brūths

Origin of bride2

1865–70; < French: bonnet-string, bridle, Old French < Germanic; bridle

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.

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

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026

Desire expels despair, however, when Marty meets his brother’s new bride.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

"I just thought that it was really exciting. The dress is obviously not cursed, I'm happily married, as is the bride I bought it from," she joked.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

The film presents a swath of characters from the diaspora rarely represented in French cinema, centered on Gloria, the mother of the bride in France and the daughter of the deceased in Africa.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

We’ve been Jilly Bean and Jessa Jean, and now we are Jillian and J. J. Maybe someday we’ll be college roommates, or bride and bridesmaid, or auntie to each other’s kids.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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.