mail-order bride

[ meyl-awr-der brahyd ]

noun

1. a woman who solicits or accepts a contractual marriage arranged by an agency or brokerage after a period of long-distance courtship, traditionally by written correspondence.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mail-order bride¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Johnson has had his scandals, but he is not the kind of man to go out with a Russian mail-order bride.

From The Daily Beast