wife
noun
a married woman, especially when considered in relation to her partner in marriage.
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wife
1 American
[wahyf]
/ waɪf /
noun
-
wives
plural
-
a married woman, especially when considered in relation to her partner in marriage.
-
a woman (archaic or dial., except in idioms).
old wives' tale.
verb (used with or without object)
wifed,
wifing
idioms
-wife
2
American
wife
British
/ waɪf /
noun
-
a man's partner in marriage; a married woman
-
an archaic or dialect word for woman
-
to marry (a woman)
wife
More Idioms
Usage
What is a basic definition of wife? A wife is a married woman. The word wife is often used when a woman’s marital status is important to the current topic. For example, a man might explain to a salesperson that he is looking for a present for his wife, which is a lot more helpful than saying he is buying a gift for “a woman.”The plural of wife is wives. A man who is married is called a husband. A woman whose marital partner has died is called a widow.
- Real-life examples: Queen Isabella I of Castille was the wife of King Ferdinand II of Aragon. King Henry VIII infamously had six wives (but one at a time!). If you are married to a woman, then she is your wife.
- Used in a sentence: My uncle has never been married and says he has no interest in finding a wife.
- Used in a sentence: The documentary explored the lives of prison wives.
What does -wife mean? The combining form -wife is used like a suffix to mean “wife" or, more generally, "woman." It’s used in a variety of terms, especially in reference to professions, but it’s relatively uncommon except for in a few words. The form -wife comes from Old English wīf, meaning “woman.” Wīf was eventually combined with mann, which was then a gender-neutral term for an adult person, to create wīfmann, the source of the modern word woman. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entry for -woman. What are variants of -wife?Just as the word wives is used as a plural form of the word wife, the ending -wives is often used as a plural form of -wife, as in midwives.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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wifedomnoun
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wifehoodnoun
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wifelessnessnoun
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wifelinessnoun
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wifelessadjective
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wifelikeadjective
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wifelyadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of wife
before 900; Middle English, Old English wīf woman; cognate with Dutch wijf, German Weib, Old Norse vīf
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.
See Examples For:
The adventurer has said the opportunity to embark on his walk came after the breakdown of his marriage, when his wife returned to Northern Ireland with their son.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
The death has also laid bare tensions between Al-Hussaini’s wife and her in-laws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
I was immediately reminded of what Krakauer’s wife told him by satellite phone before he began his push from Everest’s base camp.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
"A beloved daughter, sister, wife, friend and inspiration to so many, she will be deeply missed," it said.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
Between his empty resume and his wife hiding from the FBI, Dad isn’t having much luck.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Oys′ter-wench, -wife, -wom′an, a woman who vends oysters.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various
Alex Patton, a co-owner of the farm, said he’s seen wives sitting on $20 worth of produce.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Both of them have latterly turned to personal projects, working with their wives -- film editor Tricia Cooke and actress Frances McDormand -- on movies such as "Honey Don't" and "The Tragedy of Macbeth".
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
"About 60% of husbands and wives in the sample said they exercised, but only about a third exercised together," Yorgason said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Trump and Xi will begin their day with tea at the White House's Red Room with their wives.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Many leaflets appeal to the Filipino soldiers’ homesickness by saying that their parents, wives, and loved ones are waiting for them.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
"I'm sore offended in the lad I'm wifed to."
From Blind Man's Lantern by George Luther Schelling
From her perspective, all-powerful cosmic beings have no business wifing up with mortals.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2025
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
