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• bride
  bride

  noun

  a newly married woman or a woman about to be married.
• Bride
  Bride

  noun

  Saint. Brigid, Saint.

bride

¹ American  

[brahyd] / braɪd /

noun

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

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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.

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Bride ³ American  

[brahyd] / braɪd /

noun

1. Saint. Brigid, Saint.

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Bride ¹ British  

/ braɪd /

noun

1. See Bridget

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bride ² British  

/ braɪd /

noun

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

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bride ³ British  

/ braɪd /

noun

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

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bride Idioms  

1. see give away (the bride).

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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; see bridle

Example Sentences

A bride wed in a dressing gown, slippers and hair rollers so her new husband could see how married life was going to be.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

The mother of the bride, Phyllis Amaral, shepherded family members to a handful of front-row folding chairs.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026

Such waivers existed before the rise of GLP-1s, but are more fraught when a bride is losing a substantial amount of weight.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026

It is a running joke on many wedding days, with guests speculating if a bride will get to the church on time.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

In dreams his pale bride came to him out of a green and leafy canopy.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Related Words

• bride-to-be
• newlywed