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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

With $9.1 million, fourth place went to Searchlight's "Ready or Not 2," a follow-up to the 2019 original comedy horror in which a bride must survive a deadly game of hide-and-seek with her new in-laws.

From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026

Nisha and Munna have an older sister who was married in 2020 at the age of 16, and their mother, Laali, was a child bride herself.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026

De Angelis and Waltz are also a hoot together, she as a heaving, hissing vampire bride who can’t stop licking her chops, he as a bone-dry vampire hunter dedicated to his investigation.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026

“As a matter of fact, Maxim, someone was talking about it the other day. ‘I suppose we shall be having some sort of celebration for the bride, shan’t we, Mr. Crawley?’ he said.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

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.