husband
Americannoun
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a married man, especially when considered in relation to his partner in marriage.
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British. a manager.
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Archaic. a prudent or frugal manager.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a woman's partner in marriage
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archaic
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a manager of an estate
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a frugal person
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verb
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to manage or use (resources, finances, etc) thriftily
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archaic
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(tr) to find a husband for
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(of a woman) to marry (a man)
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obsolete (tr) to till (the soil)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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husbandsimple
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husbandssimple
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have husbandedperfect
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has husbandedperfect
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am husbandingprogressive
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are husbandingprogressive
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is husbandingprogressive
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have been husbandingperfect progressive
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has been husbandingperfect progressive
Past
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husbandedsimple
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had husbandedperfect
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was husbandingprogressive
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were husbandingprogressive
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had been husbandingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing husband
The Taming of the Shrew
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Units 2–3
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"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare, Induction
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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.
Yet Mr. Hornby could walk proudly into school because he had a sticker of star forward Jimmy Husband in his blazer pocket.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
Husband said "when 65 individuals are thrown together with some big personalities it is fair to say some won't work out".
From BBC • May 16, 2026
Husband also criticised Fifa for allowing tournament prices to spike.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
"It was then identified as a losing World Cup top and I don't think they ever wore it again," Husband added.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
"Husband," she said simply, "who can have done this terrible thing?"
From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye
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.
