husband

American  

[huhz-buhnd] / ˈhʌz bənd /

noun

1. a married man, especially when considered in relation to his partner in marriage.

2. British. a manager.

3. Archaic. a prudent or frugal manager.

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verb (used with object)

1. to manage, especially with prudent economy.

2. to use frugally; conserve.

   to husband one's resources.

   Synonyms:

   hoard, store, save, preserve

3. Archaic.

   1. to be or become a husband to; marry.

   2. to find a husband for.

   3. to till; cultivate.

husband British  

/ ˈhʌzbənd /

noun

1. a woman's partner in marriage

2. archaic

   1. a manager of an estate

   2. a frugal person

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verb

1. to manage or use (resources, finances, etc) thriftily

2. archaic

   1. (tr) to find a husband for

   2. (of a woman) to marry (a man)

3. obsolete (tr) to till (the soil)

Other Word Forms

• husbander
  noun
• husbandless
  adjective
• unhusbanded
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of husband

before 1000; Middle English husband ( e ), Old English hūsbonda master of the house < Old Norse hūsbōndi, equivalent to hūs house + bōndi ( bō-, variant of bū- dwell ( see boor) + -nd present participle suffix + -i inflectional ending)

Explanation

A husband is a married man. Your grandfather might joke that he and your grandmother have been husband and wife for so long because she has the patience of a saint and he is deaf as a post. The word husband comes from the Old Norse hūsbōndi, where hūs meant house and bōndi meant dweller. As a verb, husband means to conserve resources and use them frugally. Because of the flooding in the area, roads are cut off and everyone is being asked to husband their supplies. This conservation of resources sense of husband also occurs in the related noun husbandry.

Example Sentences

Paul Gigot: So Nebraskan by birth, husband, father of two daughters and a son, a former president of Midland Lutheran College, then a two-term senator, condolences on that.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

She had been sharing a cabin with her husband who previously died on board on 11 April, but is not a confirmed case of hantavirus.

From BBC • May 7, 2026

Related: ‘There is an imbalance of power’: My husband has cancer.

From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026

Making clothes was a means to an end, a necessity, and later, raising three girls after a divorce from her ceramist husband Richard Saar, was a matter of survival.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

She said the Pickled Onion didn’t know about the Underground Railroad back when she lived there, and neither did her husband.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Related Words

• companion
• partner
• spouse